Bing Maps now using Nokia Backend services for Traffic and Geocoding

Last year, Microsoft announced a strategic partnership with Nokia in Mapping. Our two companies have spent a lot of time working together, sharing information and investigating better ways provide relevant mapping information to help you find and get to where you’re going more quickly. Today, we’re excited to announce another important phase in that partnership with the launch of Nokia powered traffic results, which are rolling out today in 24 countries on Bing Maps.

The following countries will see improvements through Bing Maps as a result of our use of Nokia services:

· Austria

· Belgium

· Brazil

· Canada

· Finland

· France

· Germany

· Greece

· India

· Indonesia

· Ireland

· Italy

· Luxembourg

· Mexico

· Netherlands

· Poland

· Portugal

· Russia

· Saudi Arabia

· South Africa

· Spain

· Sweden

· Switzerland

· UAE

· United Kingdom

· US

 

New countries with Traffic

Sao Paulo, Brazil (Resize)

São Paulo, Brazil

Johannesburg, South Africa (resize)

Johannesburg, South Africa

Moscow, Russia (Resize)

Moscow, Russia

Mumbai, India (Resize)

Mumbai, India

 

Improved Traffic

 

We’re also improving our existing traffic coverage in the US to include traffic information for side streets in addition to freeway traffic information. See below for enhanced coverage in Seattle.

Seattle Side Street (Resize)

Seattle, Washington

In addition to these traffic improvements, Bing Maps will also start to use Nokia’s geocoding services in a number of countries offering improved directions.  This update, while not always visible to users, is another important milestone in our partnership to build the world’s best mapping platform using Nokia and Microsoft’s assets.

Thanks to our friends at Nokia for their dedication along the way. Together we have enabled a stronger Bing Maps experience and we hope Bing users in these respective countries reap the benefits of our partnership, notice an increase in address search relevance, and enjoy the addition of traffic information – especially those of you in the US who are adventurous enough to travel during the Memorial Day holiday!

 

Google Earth: Illegal mining in Goa, India

 

As far back as 2006, we’ve seen Google Earth used to help protect land from illegal mining and tree cutting. Now comes a story out of India that helped prove that politician Dinar Tarcar had been extracting far more ore than allowed from the Tembocheo Dongor mine. By using historical imagery from 2003, they were able to show the progress of the mine to prove how quickly it had expanded.

“The Google pictures of the year 2003 clearly show that the area was virgin land and it is not possible to agree with any fallacious contention that several million tonne of ore dump accumulated has been done on account of earlier dumps,” the report says pointing out to illegal activities in a mine operated at Tembocheo Dongor by Dinar Tarcar, in survey number 59/51.

That mine at Tembocheo Dongor had extracted ore in excess of the 3-lakh tonne limit set by the environmental clearance. The report has blamed the mines department, headed by Chief Minister Digambar Kamat for the last 12 years, for ignoring this violation.

 

goa.jpg 

You can read more about it on the Daily Pioneer. However, we’ve been unable to find the exact location of Tembocheo Dongor. If you’re able to track it down, leave a comment so we can all take a look at it.

(via @OgleEarth)

Bing Maps preview at WPC

Interviewer: Srishti Sharma (MSFT Student Partner from India) Interviewee: Dwayne (Bing Maps representative) Cameraman: Israel Arribas ((MSFT Student Partner from Spain) Director: Renato Jovic (MSFT Student Partner from Croatia)

http://www.youtube.com/v/wrmT15ji-Ek?f=videos&app=youtube_gdata