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first published week of: 05/04/2015
Citymaps, a recent entrant to the mapping space, sees itself as employing two key strategies to disrupt the traditional way that mapping and geolocation APIs do business. And coming up on a year in operation, its approach is gaining traction with key new deals with large companies and new API features that focus on the social sharing of map data being released.
Citymaps' game plan to reimagine the business model for mapping products is twofold: to create a map interface that moves away from using pins to mark places of interest, and to create an API usage model where application developers are rewarded for using Citymaps data, rather than having to pay for the privilege.
Citymaps began as a mobile app focused on a visually stunning design approach to displaying maps. This included having a business’ preferred logo — whether that be a private enterprise or a cultural landmark — to indicate places of interest. Now it has a number of API products that enable other developers to use either the map design or the map design and the data layers being collected by Citymaps. SDKs for iOS and Android are also available. continued…