Ability to get driving directions in 34 European countries from the U.S.

Search for directions using only a point of interest (e.g., Empire State Building, Eiffel Tower).See building footprints – launching for NYC and San Francisco 30 more cities coming soon.View areas by neighborhood – a Yahoo first – launching first in NYC and San Francisco.Terrain overlays – a Yahoo first – provide added dimension.Here’s the list of upgrades and changes from the press release: Yahoo has also seen Google Maps catch up to its usage, whereas Yahoo had been alone at number two on the heels of long-time category leader Mapquest (itself recently compelled by competitive pressure to reintroduce aerial and satellite mapping).īut today Yahoo is rolling out a range of improvements and design enhancements to Maps that follow some very interesting mapping enhancements in Yahoo Travel. It also offered contextually relevant geo-targeted ads around the map.Ĭompared to what exists today that might seem basic, but it was a significant development that set the stage and tone for map-centric local search as it appears today on all of Yahoo’s competitors’ local search sites: Google Maps, Microsoft Live Local/Maps, Ask City, AOL Local/Mapquest.ĭespite continuing to innovate and improve Yahoo Maps, the company has ceded some of the sizzle and spotlight to Google and Microsoft, which have gone on to invest heavily in 3-D capabilities and personalization.

It included a similar capacity to search for local service businesses. SmartView enabled users of Yahoo Maps to conduct map-based searches using category buttons tied to travel, restaurants and entertainment. Although Microsoft might disagree, Yahoo was really the company that kicked off the dynamic mapping arms race back in March of 2004 with the introduction of a feature called “SmartView” ( a version of it still exists on Yahoo Maps “dial-up” presentation).

Maps yahoo directions