Yahoo! Drops DeCarta for Mapping Engine; New One Live Today

There will be no change to the API so apps should still run, and the site should be faster and more accurate, says the company. But what’s the new back end? An in-house solution.

Another change: US users can now get driving directions in 34 European countries. Word is that’s part of trying to pull traffic (which is down at Yahoo Maps) from MapQuest and Google.

There are also more detailed maps of New York City and San Francisco, with more cities in the pipeline. Also upgraded: printing.

I did a very cusory look and found:
- prettier maps than I recall
- smarter directions (when I keyed in an address of an office park it asked which business I want to use as the end point - there was a list of businesses to choose from!)
- the zoom slider has tips to clarify the level (street, city, etc.)
- save options
- options for broadband (flash-based) and dial-up (original non-flash, non-slippy)

- PC Advisor
- ITWorld