Update: MapQuest Updates its Look, Tools and Logo
Another read on the update/rebranding - it’s another step toward selling MapQuest. Among the evidence from Business Insider:
- AOL has already shopped MapQuest to Microsoft
- almost NO AOL branding on the website
—- original post 6/29/10——
It’s a few days before a big US holiday, Independence Day. I got a call this week from my best friend noting she’d gotten lost “again” using Google Maps, though I warned her back in October to check any Google directions as its mapbase was not the one it used to be. So, perhaps this is a good time for MapQuest to relaunch.
The announcement tag: “Site to be More Engaging, Intuitive and Faster.” The bullets:
—One-box search for finding directions, maps and businesses;
—Enhanced My Maps with a simplified login process using existing services (AOL, OpenID, Yahoo, Google, Facebook and Twitter);
—The ability to easily save and customize information, including My Maps trip itineraries, and share it with friends via social networks, including: Facebook and Twitter;
—Ways to plan and personalize travel with notes, anecdotes, landmarks and short cuts; and
—Integration of Patch’s directory information into MapQuest’s search results (e.g. restaurants, stores, government offices, local services, parks and schools).
Patch? That’s the hyperlocal news network AOL acquired in spring 2009. I noted last fall it was moved off of MapQuest’s mapping platform to an OSM-based one. So, it’s interesting that it’s now feeding MapQuest.
There a smattering of mobile versions, which will inherit the update.
The MapQuest.com experience will continue to be replicated on mobile devices via the company’s various mobile products including MapQuest 4 Mobile, MapQuest Navigator and MapQuest Mobile Web. MapQuest also recently announced the availability of basic voice guidance on MapQuest 4 Mobile for iPhone, a key differentiator from many other free navigation apps.
The new version is being rolled out slowly on the Web and will appear to only some users right away. They can opt to see the new version via a link on the homepage or go to the new version directly. Or there’s a video. (I have no idea why the video is not embeddable!) There’s quite a bit of talk in the PR and video about the new logo and its interpretation. I guess MapQuest “star” magnet on the fridge is now a collector’s item!
On first look the interface is cleaner and the app has more of the until-now-missing tools many of us already use in Google Maps and Bing Maps including “My Maps,” a tool to build your own custom maps. While the update is a step forward, it really just sets MapQuest closer to the leading players. But since MapQuest is still the #2 mapping site in the U.S. (comScore May 2010), but change was and is unlikely anytime soon.
