MapQuest-OSM Tile Changes
This week we launched a major upgrade to our tiling infrastructure, with two major benefits. The first is noticeable, while the second hopefully is never noticed. We updated the styles of our Open tiles to match some of the improvements we’ve made on our licensed tileset. Click on the image below to see the details of our extreme makeover.

The second change is that we upgraded the tiling platform for better performance and reliability. Hopefully it’s like a great offensive line in football – you never notice it because it just works.

We have more updates in our Open infrastructure on the way. Stay tuned.

MapQuest Open Tiles + Leaflet

Nestoria

Next we wanted to highlight some applications that recently switched to MapQuest OpenStreetMap Tiles and why they did it. Both of them paired our tiles with Leaflet, an open source JavaScript mapping library that we’re big fans of.

Nestoria is a property search engine that operates in five European markets, India, Brazil, and Australia, and has successfully implemented MapQuest-OSM Tiles and Leaflet.  There are many reasons why Nestoria chose to use MapQuest-OSM Tiles with Leaflet, but one reason specifically mentioned is the availability of tools and support from the community, which includes MapQuest’s active support for OSM.

World Airport Codes

Fubra, the operator of the World Airport Codes website, shared details of their switch from the Google Maps API to a solution that involves MapQuest-OSM Tiles and Leaflet as well.  After evaluating a number of solutions, they ultimately decided that the combination of MapQuest-OSM and Leaflet offered the best solution for their needs.

If you have questions about MapQuest Open data initiatives or want to learn more, feel free to check out the documentation and open data forums on the MapQuest Developer Network. Also, if you have an app that is using MapQuest-OSM tiles and want it to be featured on this blog, let us know!

Both APIs have been designed as “drop in” replacements for the native Google mapping APIs.  To switch simply include our API instead of the native API.  We used the same object model as the native API, while of course extending it to add great features such as integrated driving directions plus the ability to use OpenStreetMap data or our licensed datasets.

Just like all of our APIs, our native mobile APIs feature no preset limits on maps with our free Community Edition license.  See the Terms Overview for a fuller explanation of our license options and limitations.

Both the Android and Apple iOS Map APIs come with a full set of samples to show off many of the great features available, which include:

Android Maps API

• Advanced routing options and ability to display the route directly on the map
• Built-in geocoding and reverse geocoding
• Smooth animation when zooming/panning
• Ability to rotate the map
• Support of shape and image overlays
• Developer’s Guide

Apple iOS Maps API Beta

• Advanced routing options and ability to display the route directly on the map
• Reverse geocoding
• Smooth animation when zooming/panning
• Support of shape and image overlays

For those interested in using OpenStreetMap data, simply don’t pass a key and the API will automatically default to using OpenStreetMap data and services.

So in summary, you can replace your native API with hardly any effort and get more features plus no preset limits on map transactions!  What are you waiting for?  Check out the documentation and samples at the following links:

Android Maps API

Apple iOS Maps API (Beta)

Please let us know what you think on our forums and please please tell us about any great apps you’ve built.  We’re excited to see what you come up with.

What’s new you ask?  Primarily two things.  First, we overhauled the touch interaction with the map.  This includes vast improvement to pinch zoom, as well as the expected defaults of double tap to zoom in and two finger tap to zoom out. The easiest way to check these improvements out are by downloading our Flash Maps API Showcase app in either iTunes or Android Marketplace.  If you want to see how it was built, you can download the sample mobile map application source code.

Second, we upgraded our API to the recently released Adobe Flash Builder 4.6.  Adobe played Santa early this year and stuffed their latest release with a number of nice goodies. The addition of native extensions allows you to complement your Flash Builder app with native code, allowing you to access native features of mobile platforms that were unavailable before.  Also, for those who have griped about having to separately download AIR when installing a Flash Builder built application, the new captive runtime feature alleviates that concern.  In addition to these features, Adobe introduced several new mobile components that will provide even more options when designing your perfect app.

For many ardent Adobe developers, the name Dev Girl has a special place in our hearts.  My personal first experience with Holly’s wisdom was when I was trying to navigate the iTunes app store submission process. Holly, my wife and kids thank you for the extra 8 to 10 hours they got to spend with me rather than hearing daddy scream at his computer.

Holly helped fix some issues we faced during development, and has since written a nice overview piece on developing with our Mobile Flash Maps API.  I encourage you to check it out and follow her blog, as I guarantee she will save you development time down the road.  Thanks for all the help Holly!

In addition to our new transactional limits (or lack thereof!) we wanted to clarify where and how you can use our APIs with a Community Edition license.  You CAN develop paid mobile applications for app stores using our Community Edition licenses.  You can also use SSL.

For all the details, check out the following Map API Licensing and Terms Overview.  Also check out the Terms of Use for all the legal specifics.  I’ve included the handy chart available from the overview below.  Head over to the MapQuest Developer Network to sign up for a free map API key and start developing!

	ENTERPRISE	COMMUNITY
	Licensed Data	Licensed Data	Open Data
Maps	(No preset limit)*	(No preset limit)*	(No preset limit)*
Directions	(No preset limit)*	(5000 calls/day)	(No preset limit)*
Geocoding	(No preset limit)*	(5000 calls/day)	(No preset limit)*
Search	(No preset limit)*	(5000 calls/day)	(No preset limit)*
Route Matrix	(No preset limit)*	(5000 route pairs/day)
Traffic **
Non-Commercial or Public Web Apps
Non-Commercial or Public Mobile Apps
Private and/or Paid Commercial Web Apps
Paid Mobile Apps
SSL
Forum Support
Premium Support(24/7 Phone & Email Support)
System Performance Levels
Account Management

* MapQuest operates a shared service and reserves the right to limit access to prevent service degradation.  Please contact MapQuest to discuss applications with heavy traffic volume expectations.

** The Traffic API Web Service cannot be used for real-time navigation, in conjunction with in-car or stand alone portable navigation devices, or be used as the primary purpose of your website or application.

The SplitViewNavigator in Flash Builder 4.6

Hello from cloudy and cool Los Angeles! Adobe MAX has been humming along so far and there’s a lot of excitement about the types of mobile applications possible with Adobe Flash Builder 4.5, as well as the improvements coming with Flash Builder 4.6.  Naturally with mobile apps come mapping, directions, traffic and more, and so far we’ve seen a warm welcome to our new Mobile Flash Maps API.

I set out at MAX to determine sentiment around the overall Flash Builder foray into mobile applications. The folks I spoke with were generally pleased and excited by the possibilities of coding once and deploying everywhere, not the least of which, significant cost savings. I had forgotten how much people love Flash Builder as a tool to design, build and debug applications – when compared with developing in other web languages, Flash really spoils you.

As far as actual mobile applications built with Flash Builder 4.5 in the market, the most notable is Politico. However, several folks I spoke with were in active development on some new apps, so the next 3-6 months should be interesting to watch.

The pre-release of Flash Builder 4.6 has generated a stir, most notably with the performance enhancements, native extensions, new mobile components and an improved deployment for Android so that users don’t have to separately install AIR. These first two features should really close the gap between what a Flash-built native app can do versus a natively coded app.

From my perspective, it’s exciting to be on the forefront of a technology that has such great potential. I’m pleased to see the features Adobe has in 4.6, as they match up well with MapQuest’s roadmap. (We’re trying to keep up with several great features of our own planned in the next several months.)

On a related note, we have a cool demo to share from WebMapSolutions. While we’ve built our own demo application (which Android users can install directly from Android Market), the good folks at WebMapSolutions have been working on several of their own. Check out the following video they put together of one of their apps.

Just a reminder, tomorrow (Wednesday, Oct. 5) at 10 a.m. we’ll do a deeper dive into the capabilities of the API and what’s next in our Unconference panel.

I’ve been involved with many a mobile project over the years, and, frankly, they are a huge pain.  To build an app available to most users means building the same code several times over, once for each major platform.  Today, we’re excited to announce a new API combined with an Adobe technology that should alleviate that pain.

For those who have been following Adobe lately, you’ve seen some very exciting developments within their Flash Builder (Flex SDK) development tools.  With the release of Flash Builder 4.5, you can deploy native mobile applications to Apple iOS, Google Android and Blackberry Tablet from a single code base.  Yes, code ONE time and deploy native applications everywhere.  For those used to Adobe Flex, Flash Builder is the new name of the development tool to deploy applications using Adobe Flex SDK or ActionScript.

Our Mobile Flash Maps API provides interactive mapping features to use within Flash Builder 4.5 native mobile applications.  This includes support for touch gestures, as well as making our controls and POIs mobile friendly. So now you can easily combine the great features of our web services, such as searching for traffic or optimizing your route, with an easy way to deploy to a mobile device.  Check out the video below to see just a small sample of what you can do.

To me, there’s nothing better than finding the perfect piece of sample code when I’m looking to develop an application.  The mobile application featured in that video is available to jumpstart your next mobile project.  If you’re on an Android device, you can run this app directly on your phone by checking out the MapQuest Mobile Flash Maps API Showcase in the Android Market.  You can also download the source code for our mobile mapping app here.

We couldn’t squeeze all the features of our web services in a single app – here are some other features you might be interested in.

• Searching for traffic incidents along a route
• Search by drive time or drive distance, either around a point or along a route
• Alternate routing
• Optimized routing (re-order stops to make the overall trip more efficient)
• Reverse geocoding
• Bicycle routing and elevation charts using open data

Along with those features, you have your choice of using either our licensed data (what we use on MapQuest.com) or our open data (such as OpenStreetMap).  While the Mobile Flash Maps API is different from our web/desktop Flash Maps API, you’ll still find many of the samples we provide on our desktop/web API will be useful to see the possibilities of what can be built.  Here is a full list of differences between the mobile and web/desktop versions of our Flash Maps API.

This is just the beginning – we’re excited to meet Flash Builder and Flex developers here at Adobe MAX and hear what features they’re looking for from us going forward.  We have an Unconference discussion at 10 am on Wednesday if you would like to see the Mobile Flash Maps API in action.

If you’re not at the show, head over to our Flash Maps API Forums at let us know what you think.  We already have some additional improvements on the way.

Catch up with us at MAX (@MapQuestRoman)!

Updated Map Controls Including Geolocation
Yes, the beautiful map controls featured on MapQuest.com are now available through our API.  Plus, you get a bonus control that we have not exposed on MapQuest.com.  The waving man!  Click him and he automatically centers the map based on the W3C Geolocation Specification implemented in many of the latest browsers. Additionally, you can add a custom handler to perform some task after you’ve been geolocated: find the closest store, reverse geocode, etc.  Here’s a sample using geolocation with a reverse geocode.

Better Documentation
Is there anything more frustrating that trying to develop something with incomplete or incorrect documentation?  We feel your pain.  Our goal is to make working with the MapQuest Platform easy, so we’ve added “try it now” features to all of our docs, allowing you to edit the code in the browser and see the result.  Plus, we’re expanding our samples and pages, including the new Customize the Map Interface page for all those folks who like to put their own look on the map controls or info bubbles.

Nerd Alert
Changing our projection to Mercator might not seem like a big deal, but to those who might have struggled overlaying data, it will greatly simplify using our maps with other systems.  On the API side, we’re continually streamlining to simplify development.  You’ll notice a new map constructor object with an easy way to initialize the map based on specific points – just pass the collection object to the constructor.

For all you version 6 users, upgrading to version 7 is as easy as changing the version string in your JS include URL!

This is just the beginning…please stay tuned for further updates by following the blog or our Twitter feed (@MapQuestTech).  Follow me at @MapQuestRoman.

Next up…a way to code once and deploy mobile apps with stunning maps to iOS, Android and Blackberry!  Impossible you say?

MapQuest Platform v6 features new Web Services to easily implement mapping, routing, geocoding, geographic search and traffic using a REST-like API. On top of our new Web Services, we’ve rebuilt the JavaScript and ActionScript SDKs, streamlining our object model. We have also added new features such as enhanced wireless support, draggable routes and a custom object to quickly add a business locator.

Web Services – Overview Documentation

-Pass name/value, JSON or XML in, get JSON or XML out

Geocoding Web Service – Documentation

-Get accurate address resolution using both NAVTEQ and Tele Atlas street data, as well as address points

-MapQuest’s precise 5 character result code tells you exactly how your address geocoded

-Pass a bounding box to bias the results to addresses within that area

-Get both a street lat/lng and a parcel centroid for point geocodes

-Retrieve side of street information

-Easily add thumbnail maps for ambiguities

-Batch geocode up to 100 locations in one call

-Reverse geocode

Static Map Web Service – Documentation

-Easily create map images with overlays, icons, declutter and traffic

-Utilize different map styles

-JPG, PNG or GIF at customizable sizes

-Easy-to-use wizard to create map URLs

Geographic Search Web Service – Documentation

-Search by lat/lng, address or IP address

-Search by radius, rectangle, polygon or corridor

-Search by drive time/distance or walking time

-Mix and match data sources, including hosted data, remote data and NAVTEQ mapping data

-Utilize multiple POI tables to add restaurants, bars, airports, train stations and more

Traffic Web Service – Documentation

-Retrieve a list of incidents in a given area, both construction and traffic incidents

-Retrieve flow overlay

-Retrieve available markets

SDKs – JavaScript and ActionScript (AS3/Flex)

JavaScript SDK Documentation

AS3 SDK Documentation

-Wireless (including iPhone) support for draggable maps through the JS SDK

-Draggable routes

-No more proxy!

-Overview control

-Mouse wheel support

-New declutter styles

-Automatically add routes and search results to the map

-Removes many of the separate calls for geocodes, record details and more