MapmyIndia.com, the 2-year-old, only online maps portal for India, unveiled v-2007, its easier-to-use, futuristic version here today. MapmyIndia v- 2007 exploits the Web 2.0 platform to introduce a number of features, not yet offered in India.

 

• First time in India
o Draggable, much richer maps for seamless, easy use
o Turn-by-turn inter-city & intra-city driving directions
• Unique eLocation – Upload your own location & travel route
• Right-click bonanza for ease of use
• All consumer services now completely free on the Net

(MapmyIndia provides detailed maps at different zoom levels on the Net and blends them with futuristic offerings - such as Mapsearch, eLocation, Driving Directions & Local Search – to offer an exhaustive array of location-based solutions centring on India.)

According to Mr Rakesh Verma, Managing Director at CE Info Systems (P) Ltd, the parent company of MapmyIndia.com: “The new version brings online mapping closer to the consumer expectations. It is a manifestation of our efforts to make MapmyIndia an accessible, usable and valuable proposition for users.” MapmyIndia v-2007 allows users to drag the maps (at all zoom levels) to explore adjoining areas not currently on the screen. In the v-2006 version of MapmyIndia (now called as MapmyIndia Classic), the users need to click on tabs bordering the map eyeview, leading to a fresh reload of the page, resultant delay and a distinct break to the continuity of the user’s map exploration process.

Explains Rohan Verma, the 21-year-old Stanford student, who conceived the portal: “The new version provides a seamless experience, infusing fun into the online map usage activity.”

The users now need to simply slide the zoom bar up or down to zoom in or out, respectively. “When we first tested the new version internally,” says Rohan, “we found it a delightful experience. The sheer ease of travelling anywhere in India on the web, without needing to click the mouse even once, made it an awesome experience.”

The eLocation service, which was at a conceptual stage earlier, is a full-blown service now. MapmyIndia v-2007 allows the user to draw his/her own route on the map from the closest landmark. “This visual depiction completely eliminates the hassles of going round and round, seeking directions in the last-mile lap of the journey,” says Mr Verma. “It makes reaching the destination that much easier.” Navigate India – on the Net, on Mobile http://www.mapmyindia.com Enhancing the Driving Directions application, MapmyIndia v-2007 shows the route for inter-city and intra-city directions on the map along with the textual, turn-by-turn directions. With the new right-click option, users can now also visually mark-out their start and destination points on the map to get directions. The new version details numerous categories of landmarks and points of interest (PoIs) to enable a precise search of any location in India. These PoIs are segmented category as well as location-wise.

MapmyIndia v-2007 provides all its consumer services completely free of charge on the Net. “Our decision to provide these services at no charge aims to empower Indians to find their way around on their own,” explains Mr Verma. “All the good things come free at MapmyIndia.”

MapmyIndia is in the process of integrating the map usage with mobile devices too. “Our bouquet of services would ensure that mobile users benefit practically from the locationbased services of our portal,” says Rohan. “This service is being launched very shortly.” (MapmyIndia has emerged a forerunner in providing enterprise solutions on a mapping portal. A large number of clients are using these services effectively.)

MapmyIndia’s future direction lies in the realm of navigation, thus eliminating locationbased hassles so endemic to the Indian conditions. “The v-2007 of MapmyIndia unveils India’s new direction. It heralds the start of an era where individual Indians will enjoy the fruits of online maps with a great ease,” concludes Mr Verma.

About CE Info Systems (P) Ltd

MapmyIndia, recognized by Nasscom as one of the pioneering, innovative ideas in 2004, is conceived and owned by CE Info Systems (P) Ltd, an ISO 9001-2000 certified leader in the Indian location-based services space. The Company has harnessed its over-15 years of tireless work to create a hierarchical database with a single integrated map of the entire country that consists of multiple unique attributes of navigation, like street names, addresses, landmarks, turn restrictions, one-way indicators, flyovers, speed limits, etc, to make online navigation possible in the difficult Indian terrain.

CE Info Systems (P) Ltd is also known for its services and solutions based on Internet & Mobile Applications, turnkey projects, and Location-based enterprise solutions. The Company owns the acknowledged, single-largest repository of digital spatial data of India.

See www.MapmyIndia.com