Our editors step up to the plate to evaluate last year's predictions and offer new ones for the geospatial marketplace in 2013.

Are there any truly innovative GIS companies? Are there any LBS companies? What’s innovative in the mapping world these days?

Are there any innovations in maps or mapping applications on the near horizon that are going to substantially change consumers’ lives? Maybe.

Maps before and after Hurricane Sandy predicted flood damage well. What can mappers do better next time to support high density urban areas that are likely to be impacted by catastrophic storms?

This week we get the lowdown on all of Nokia's recent mapping announcements from Jim Reid, president of ADCi, a long time Nokia partner.

Federal projects and their funding often bring significant revenue to private geospatial companies. In the current economy, that's likely to change. Are companies that lose out on this funding prepared to "pivot" toward more commercial customers?

Last week a discussion of Spatial Information Technology (SpatialIT) came to a bit of a head. The conversation, led by OpenGeo’s Paul Ramsey, may have unearthed a truth many would rather not hear: “... as we know, GIS courses are just the bait in the trap, to suck naïve students into a career where 90% of the activity is actually in data creation (digitization monkey!) and publication (map monkey!), not in analysis.” Is that right?

Last week Apple announce the well-anticipated iPad Mini. About a dozen articles focused on the fact that the wi-fi version of the device does not have a GPS chip. That's true of its big brother, the iPad, and its tiny cousin, the iPod Touch. The cellular versions all do have GPS. Why do these wi-fi versions miss out?

Last week Esri announced at its European User Conference that it had acquired LBS firm, Geoloqi. Our editors look at why Esri might be interested in the firm and the new market areas it might open.

StackMap is a tool to literally map the stacks of libraries. It offers patrons maps and directions to books of interest and makes the lives of those who manage those stacks easier. Is StackMap, now just a few years old, a long-term winner or is it another mapping solution that is here today and gone tomorrow?