I’ve been waiting (and searching) for a mapping site that gives multi-destination directions and the new (still in Beta) Yahoo Maps definitely delivers!
Here are some of the features that I have wanted to see in an on-line maps and how the Beta Yahoo Maps stands up:
- Multi-destination: This allows you to type in a bunch of addresses and get directions from one site to the next all on one map. This feature alone should make Yahoo Maps (beta) the default online mapping program for all real estate agents (and home buyers!). Thank you Yahoo!
- Best routing of destinations: theoretically, you’d be able to hit a button and have the mapping software tell you the most efficient route to get between multiple points. Yahoo does not have this feature (yet?), but they do let you manually change the order of your destinations! To do this, you simple have to drag the address within the sidepanel above (or below) another address.
- Remembering addresses. It is nice that Yahoo maps is integrated with my Yahoo Address book. The only problem is that I haven’t used my Yahoo Address book in years so all the addresses (and there are 100s) are old (including my “home”). It looks like it might be time to return to my Yahoo address book!
- Mobile Phone Integration: Getting directions via my mobile phone is currently a pain. I have a blackberry with internet access, but the current mapping sites are too slow and any misspellings require retyping things… I did try out Yahoo Maps a few weeks ago (and I liked that I had access to my on-line Yahoo address book), but, again, the addresses in my address book were so outdated, that it didn’t do me a lot of good. Seeing has how the Yahoo Maps has the “email map” and “Send to phone” options, it looks like it might be time to update my Yahoo address book!
- Live Traffic Data: I also like that Yahoo has integrated live traffic data (like freeway speeds). I’d be interested to see them add traffic cameras (Along the lines of Bus Monster).
Ideally, I’d like to be able to map out a bunch of homes while sitting at my home computer and email a set of directions to myself. All the addresses would be remembered (by Yahoo Maps) so that I could easily get an updated set of directions while on the road via my mobile phone. It looks like Yahoo is definitely going in that direction, but when I tried to email myself a map with four destinations, it only returned a generic map. I had similar problems trying to get a “printable version” of the map so I’m thinking that my problems might be related to the fact that I’m working on a Mac. Hopefully they will fix these issues soon!
And speaking of bugs, the beta version of Yahoo Maps did not work for me while using Firefox on my Mac. I had to revert to IE in order to see the graphics. Again, hopefully they will fix this bug soon!
One last thing before I call it a night… I played around with some of the programs that have been created with the Yahoo Map API, and it looks like they are finally at a level that is competitive with Google… My favorite mash-up so far maps out local events based on yahoo’s event calendar. Note that it would be really nice if this event mash-up had a city/zip search bar so that I could easily navigate from SF to Seattle, but instead, I had to zoom way out and zoom way back in is really nice that this program DOES have a city/zip search bar. (As Toby says in one of the comments: “For moving around in the events browser, you can highlight the city name above the map and type in a city or zip. It’ll jump straight where you want it to go.”) . Other than that issue, it It is a nice little program which I’ll definitely use again! I’m especially jazzed (or is it “rocked”) that I found out the Red Elvises are playing at the Tractor Tavern this Saturday! 🙂
Update 1: After posting this article, I noticed that I wasn’t the only one excited about the Local Event Browser. Jeremy Zawodny gives a good round up of all the excitement by Yahoo staff regarding the new map capabilities. I especially like that Yahoo has made an API for their geocoder. A free and easy-to-use geocoder is a major missing link from the Google Maps API. (what is a geocoder? In the simplest sense, a geocoder gives a latitude and a longitude for a given address.) It will be interesting to see if Google responds by opening up an address geocoder as well.
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What you really need is to get a GPS/mapping software package for a PDA and keep it in your car.
My wife gave me her old Dell Axim PDA to use when she got a new one. I promptly got a GPS antenna and car mount and have turned it into a navigation machine. If you get a PDA and a bluetooth GPS antenna to mount in your car and a good PDA mapping software package like mapoplis, tomtom, or Oncourse Navigator you will be able to do the following:
1. Download your MLS listings from your desktop computer into your PDA by making each MLS listing into a separate “contact”
2. Pull up your list of contacts (MLS listings) on the PDA screen and ask the PDA to generate the fastest routes between multiple contacts.
3. Use the GPS with voice guidance to navigate you between multiple addresses.
Of course this sort of feature is probably must useful for people who are new to an an area or not really familiar with neighborhoods. I would expect that most real estate agents can navigate their home cities in their sleep and really don’t need GPS mapping software. But it is awesome if you are looking for addresses or shopping for houses in a new city like I’m currently doing in Texas.
For moving around in the events browser, you can highlight the city name above the map and type in a city or zip. It’ll jump straight where you want it to go. Have fun.
Thanks Toby! I obviously missed that the first time around!
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Is it silly for me to move to Seattle with no job lined up?
It depends… What industry are you looking in? I’m going to assume that you are a tech-type seeing as how you have a fun-to-read blog, in which case your prospects are pretty good.
Feel free to email me (anna@raincityguide.com) with more information on your job prospects and I may be able to lead you to some good places to look!
It depends… What industry are you looking in? I’m going to assume that you are a tech-type seeing as how you have a fun-to-read blog, in which case your prospects are pretty good.
Feel free to email me (anna@raincityguide.com) with more information on your job prospects and I may be able to lead you to some good places to look!
Is it silly for me to move to Seattle with no job lined up?
If you have a family then yes, obviously its a dumb idea.
But if you are young and single and willing to rent a room or share an apartment and willing to do whatever kind of work until you get on your feet then why not. As long as there is potential work in your chosen field. I wouldn’t recommend it if you are say, a pool contractor or in some field that really doesn’t work in Seattle. I moved to Seattle right out of the Peace Corps with no particular job prospects and did fine. Thousands of people do the same thing every year.
Kent,
I agree with you on both of your comments.
1) A GPS/mapping package is definitely the best option! (but a lot more expensive!)
2) If you have kids then moving anywhere without a job lined up seems like a dumb idea… Without kids, you have a ton more options!
Kent,
I agree with you on both of your comments.
1) A GPS/mapping package is definitely the best option! (but a lot more expensive!)
2) If you have kids then moving anywhere without a job lined up seems like a dumb idea… Without kids, you have a ton more options!
Hi Dustin – You might also like this demo I made of Google Maps and Yahoo Maps side by side: http://sidebyside.ning.com/