There's A Lot More to Aerial View Maps Than Just Heading for Google

When you go looking for aerial view maps on the Internet, what websites do you think of first? Most would head straight from Google Maps, Bing Maps or MapQuest. Those aren't the only ones of course; iOS now comes with its 3-D map system that you can't access on anything other than Apple devices. Leaving that aside though, it's mostly Google, Bing and MapQuest that you turn to for your navigational needs. While most people love Google Maps, MapQuest does have its fan base for the way it allows you to geo-tag every one of your blog posts.

It's not fair that people just turn to Google just because they like thesearch engine though. Bing has some really cool features on its own aerial view maps. For instance, have you ever tried zooming as far as you can go with the Bird's Eye view on Bing Maps? If you have never tried it, you'd be surprised at how high quality it all seems compared to Google. On Bing's aerial view maps, all you need to do is to choose the Bird's Eye view option on the drop-down menu that's right next to the zoom controls, and you're set.

When you first head to Bing maps, it usually just seems exactly the same quality as Google Maps. You don't really begin to notice the difference in quality until you really begin to use that zoom button. You don't really get the level of detail and quality with Google that you get with Bing. At Bing, they use a kind of technology that they call photogrammetric processing. This is where the take the raw satellite images, and then process them to develop them into 3-D maps. You get a kind of real sense of depth with Bing Maps. If you ned to use aerial view maps, you really should try Bing first.

Google, of course, goes a lot further than mere aerial view maps. They give you Street View too, in addition. You get the special Street View maps in many important parts of the world. This is where you can zoom in and actually go in from your standard aerial view. You get to go right down street by street as if you were walking down those streets. Google uses car mounted cameras; they capture the view of every street in every city that is covered. Those cameras are special 15 lens devices too that provide you with a seamless 360° panoramic image.

Speaking of Street View, Bing Maps has a pretty cool feature. Everywhere on their maps, you see little camera-shapedicons. Put your mouse on those camera icons, and you see recent photos from those locations. It's a great way to stay current.