It was reported this week that Yahoo’s locator service Yahoo!®Maps had changed platforms (see press release below), dumping MapQuest, which had been the previous provider, for a custom solution from data providers Navigation Technologies, and Geographic Data Technology (GDT), and software application providers Telcontar and Sagent Technology. A Yahoo representative told CNET News.com “the decision was not based on competition with AOL Time Warner. Instead, Yahoo wanted more control over the way online maps are incorporated into its Web services” (as reported by CNET News staff writer Jim Hu on March 7, 2002). However, since Yahoo and AOL (MapQuest’s parent company) are locked in a battle for the top portal, it is fairly clear that Yahoo wanted to sever the ties to a competitor.

I had a chance to discuss the situation with Telcontar’s Vice President of Marketing, David Wood, who remarked that, “We believe that Yahoo! separated from MapQuest because that solution did not give them the flexibility they need to tailor the mapping property for customer requirements. In particular, Yahoo! sees an opportunity to generate revenue from advertising and promotional opportunities that tie mapping more tightly to yellow pages and large-scale national advertising campaigns. They could not do the changes required without a mapping platform completely under their control, and based on Telcontar capabilities.”

Yahoo! is incorporating Telcontar’s Drill Down Server 2.1, and data filter products as well as Sagent’s Centrus geocoding technology, and developing the application internally. Taking a brief look at the Yahoo!Maps, and using my own address as a guide, generally because few good map databases accurately show my streets correctly, I was surprised. The application was faster and more accurate than any other map portal application I have tried recently. The location information displayed all surrounding points of interested correctly and the street name annotations on the map were easily read. NavTech as the provider of data and it made a difference.

For comparison, I checked the display of my address on MapQuest. Though I have used MapQuest many times before, I was still very disappointed in the results, especially after using Yahoo!Maps. To say that MapQuest came close to placing a correct location for my house is like saying that the Yankees were close to beating the Arizona Diamondbacks in the World Series last year…they were in the same ballpark but with a disastrous outcome. The street centerlines were totally misconstrued which led to a very strange location for my house. The data provider was GDT. Still, CNET reported that MapQuest has 1,400 licensed customers. Bottom line. Use Yahoo!Maps.