Microsoft Updates Bing Maps with a Bevy of Bird's Eye Imagery
Microsoft's Bing team this week announced a handful of updates to Bing Maps, including the largest update of "Bird's Eye" imagery to date. Nearly 270 terabytes of data was added to Bing Maps, or put another way, the equivalent of 100,000 DVDs. In addition, the Bing team expanded venue maps and added a "Report a problem" feature.
All tallied, Bing Maps has published 1,452,958 square miles -- half a petabyte of data -- of Bird's Eye scenes from around the globe. In case you're not aware, Bird's Eye imagery is captured at a 45-degree angle from low-flying aircraft. It gives the viewer a better sense of depth for buildings, mountains, and other geography, though it's only available in certain locations. Similar to Google's Street View, you can sometimes see pedestrians and other objects in Bird's Eye images.
Bing's Venue Maps provides detailed looks at points of interest. There are now more than 4,700 Venue Maps in more than 59 countries on Bing Maps, allowing you to virtually weave your way around malls, airports, amusement parks, and more. Within a zoom level of 1,000 feet, you'll see purple and green polygons, the former representing stores and the latter indicating restaurants.
All tallied, Bing Maps has published 1,452,958 square miles -- half a petabyte of data -- of Bird's Eye scenes from around the globe. In case you're not aware, Bird's Eye imagery is captured at a 45-degree angle from low-flying aircraft. It gives the viewer a better sense of depth for buildings, mountains, and other geography, though it's only available in certain locations. Similar to Google's Street View, you can sometimes see pedestrians and other objects in Bird's Eye images.
Bing's Venue Maps provides detailed looks at points of interest. There are now more than 4,700 Venue Maps in more than 59 countries on Bing Maps, allowing you to virtually weave your way around malls, airports, amusement parks, and more. Within a zoom level of 1,000 feet, you'll see purple and green polygons, the former representing stores and the latter indicating restaurants.
