Sneak Peak of New Pushpin ProView

One of the few companies spending its energy only on providing a great Web Map API is Placebase. Tomorrow the company announces some new features of its Pushpin offering. (You recall Pushpin - like Google Maps, but fewer restrictions on use?)

The update includes something called ProView. The idea is to make the applications look more professional and less like they were built on consumer mapping platforms. So now there are:

- pre-cached maps with the consumer look (yellow orange) and a more professional look
- more layers to toggle - how about “fat streets” when the streets are the focus, but “thin streets” when the focus is something else, like a thematic map? (Have a look at the demo here)
- more control of which labels are on/off to clear the map when appropriate
- better indications of land use: there are now 11 color-coded land use categories (schools, cemeteries, Native American reservations, Federal lands, etc.)
This is the sort of thing you’d need to build yourself as it’s not available via APIs from the usual cast of characters. I guess that’s one advantage Placebase has just focussing on mapping APIs.