After ruffling feathers of folks over at Google with its revamped search engine, Bing, Microsoft has updated its Bing Maps http://maps.bing.com service to provide new features. The new updates include add-ons like overlays, a substitute to Google Maps' StreetView (called Streetside) and an improved "Bird's Eye" feature.Bing also gets a new applications gallery where users can customize their maps, affix local information and check local businesses. Though Microsoft has not tried to re-invent the wheel with Bing Maps there are a few features on this one that you will not find on Google Maps. For example, there is this "LightSpeed" feature that that blurs the passing scenery to provide the user a feeling of "being there". Access Bing Maps also integrates Microsoft's Photosynth technology that helps users to browse 3D images. There is also a Local Lens, a feature that looks for local blogs, crawls the posts and layers them over a selected application.
Though most features compare well with Google Maps, the Streetside feature is not as comprehensive Google Streetview - and, users will be requisite to install Silverlight on their systems to fully use the service. One more issue, especially for India specific users, is that Bing isn't as comprehensive as Google in rural and other areas and the zoom levels on Google Maps are far better. However Bing Maps is a good alternative to Google Maps, it has some way to go before users can make a complete switch from Google Maps.
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