maps service, which was first launched last autumn and has since been experiencing a surge in traffic during recent months.
192.com has republished all of its street maps after exclusively redrawing every UK map to incorporate the latest Ordnance Survey data and ensure all street labelling is shown in an easy to read format. 192.com is unique on the internet for labelling 100% of UK streets (typically rival sites name 70-80%) and so uses hand drawn labelling particularly for crowded, historic cities with many street names in close proximity.
The colouring of the maps has also been optimised to suit motorists and non-motorists alike and to accommodate the changing requirements of computer and mobile screens. The aerial photography, already acclaimed as the best available for the UK, has also been improved further and offers unrivalled clarity and resolution nationwide, not just in cities. But it’s the transition between maps and photography that really sets 192.com’s new maps service apart, with the smoothest, cleanest transfer from map to map, and map to detailed aerial photography.
The update also sees a new 192.com Journey Planner including a fully interactive travel map and ‘real route’ directions that accurately navigate around major landmarks and highlight the major distances in your journey; particularly important on unfamiliar routes.
At the same time, 192.com’s business mapping solutions have received a major boost with the launch of five new ready to implement modules including a multi-criteria store locator, store profile module and customisable journey planner. A business Application Programming Interface (API) has also been made available which will make it even easier for businesses to embed 192.com maps into their own websites and build their own dynamic interactive mapping applications.
“In an era of globalisation and standardisation, we are proud to be UK-centric and this will always be our focus,” commented Dominic Blackburn,
new technology director, 192.com. “We are setting out to make our maps even better over the next few months and there will be some dramatic further improvements in the quality of our aerial photography in certain areas. The next step for the industry is to fully integrate business and residential data into maps, something for which 192.com already has products in beta test phase.”