Maporama International Showcases Web 2.0 Webpage

JavaScriptSearch
Friday, June 30, 2006; 02:52 AM

Maporama International announced the release of its new maps and itineraries website www.maporama.com. The website has been redesigned on the ergonomic level as well as on the technical side. The new interface, based on AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) technology, brings to the web users new enriched functionalities, dynamic contents and a more rapid information display.

The www.maporama.com homepage is customizable thanks to a system of modules and options that allow for the definition a personal interface (choice of the map styles within 31 styles, of the display size of the map, itineraries parameters, functional modules display).

The map module offers a new user-experience, richer and more interactive: zoom-in and zoom-out function by selecting a rectangle with the mouse, drag &drop function to navigate on the map.

The itineraries module has been enriched with an interactive roadbook (choice of the displayed information like step-by-step maneuver instructions, intersections maps) and additional contents such as speed cameras. Users customize also the print layout of their itinerary depending on their final need (pedestrian itinerary, by car or motorcycle).

The new www.maporama.com website offers innovative functionalities in BETA version: www.maporama.com provides an itinerary calculation under the real-time traffic information constraint and real-time driving indications. The website also includes a cartographic view service to display in one click the road traffic situation on street level maps. These services are currently available only for the Paris, France region.

Directions.mp3 transforms any MP3 player, MP3 mobile phone or iPod in a real road companion: in one single click on www.maporama.com, the user exports from his PC to his MP3 player the maneuvers instructions of the selected itinerary:

-- the navigation instructions are accessible in audio mode on any MP3 player

-- the detailed maps of each maneuver are integrated at the place of the album jacket

-- the step-by-step maneuvers are exported under text format at the place of the album titles

-- the exporting system is totally compatible with iTunes.

The www.maporama.com website is harnessing collective intelligence through the collaboration between individuals: for instance, the web search engine, present on the different pages of the website, offers community research functionalities. The previous visitors dynamically tune the ranking and the relevance of the results.

The website offers also the possibility to create maps and itineraries collections in the area "My Maporama", to enrich the users' online social network. The web users create and store their maps in their personal "My Maporama", and share them with their community by email, in a simple click.

Web users have access to the location information they want, in more than 50 countries in street-level detail, with the recent deployment of the first major cities of China and Japan.

"www.maporama.com is willing to be positioned as a key player in the Web 2.0 websites. Our vocation with this new site: offering a high quality service, easy-to-use and really multi-platforms. The strength of our website, and what will make it a reference in the web 2.0 world, is also related the perfect control of our cartographic databases and to our capacity to improve the user experience" commented Dominique Grillet, CEO of Maporama International.

Maporama International is a global player on the location-based services market offering solutions of store locators, fleet management GPS navigation as well as a collection of integration and development APIs. These services are delivered on any kind of devices (PC, PDA, mobile phones, MP3 players).