REDMOND, Wash., Dec. 12, 2002 — Even as Microsoft Corp. releases Microsoft® MapPoint®
.NET version 3.0, the newest version of its flexible Web service platform for mapping and location-based services, early adopters of the technology already see its benefits.
Dollar Rent A Car Systems Inc., a major rental car provider with more than 430 locations in 26 countries, implemented MapPoint .NET version 3.0.
“MapPoint .NET is essential for our Web site. It was incredibly easy to integrate into our Web site to help our customers find our locations. In addition, we are able to provide value-added travel tools for our customers, such as maps and driving directions to hotels in the area they are traveling to,”
said Larry Zucker, executive director of application development at Dollar Rent A Car.
Other early adopters of MapPoint .NET version 3.0 include Rentvillas.com, a vacation property rental agency specializing in upscale European holiday properties, and Nav2000.com, a nonprofit information site for private pilots in France.
MapPoint .NET version 3.0 includes many new and enhanced features that will be useful for location-enabling a broad range of applications, including wireless and mobility solutions, customer relationship management applications, enterprise location-based services, and business intelligence applications. Following are a few examples:
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Broader geographic coverage. MapPoint .NET version 3.0 includes expanded street-level data for Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. It also includes new street-level data for Belfast, Northern Ireland; Dublin, Ireland; Helsinki, Finland; Oslo, Norway; Portugal; and Sweden; and new North American street-level data for Puerto Rico.
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More points of interest. MapPoint .NET now includes more than 16 million U.S. business listings from Acxiom Corp. Listings also feature business data including several levels of SIC (standard industrial classification) codes, number of employees and sales revenue per location.
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Reverse geocoding. A geographic latitude and longitude coordinate allows customers to request additional information for a location such as city, county, state, country or continent. This feature makes it possible for developers to program a wide range of user experiences when working with addresses or places.
Microsoft MapPoint .NET version 3.0 is available now. The new MapPoint .NET technology is also used in MSN®
Maps & Directions and the Maps & Directions channel provided by MSN Mobile. More information about other customers’ experience with MapPoint .NET can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/mappoint/net/ .
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software –any time, any place and on any device.
Microsoft, MapPoint and MSN are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
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