Comments on: Google Maps vs. Virtual Earth: A geocoding accuracy showdown in West Palm Beach

By: William M. Hartnett

William M. Hartnett — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 15:19:30 +0000

That is a pretty good rendering, not to mention a very cool photo on your part.

By: Scott

Scott — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 12:05:08 +0000

It’s amazing the accuracy of Microsoft’s 3D imaging as well. I compared a photo I took in Montana with Microsoft Virtual Earth’s rendering of the same view. See for yourself!

By: William M. Hartnett

William M. Hartnett — Fri, 30 May 2008 22:45:36 +0000

Thanks for the link to Miami’s Virtual Earth-powered mapping app. Pretty impressive work!

By: Venky Krishnan

Venky Krishnan — Fri, 30 May 2008 20:28:20 +0000

Take a look at the City of Miami’s Virtual Earth, Awesome use of this technology to help the community develop and for first responders and planners to get a view of the city.
http://www.miamigis.com/cityofmiamive/

By: Rooftop geocoding introduced to Google Maps; Time for a Virtual Earth rematch? : William M. Hartnett

Fri, 02 May 2008 01:21:05 +0000

[...] readers will recall my colleague Matt’s head-to-head comparison of geocoding accuracy in Google Maps and Virtual Earth, which I wrote about back in January. Briefly, 85 percent of Virtual [...]

By: Kiefer Richardson

Kiefer Richardson — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 02:06:31 +0000

Google earth’s footage looks more like 2004 to me, which my neighborhood and things change a lot. there’s a whol new part of my neighborhood that cant be seen on google earth because its outdated. However Microsoft not only has 2007 or 2006 pictures, but it also has a feature called “birds eye view”. ABSOLUTELY SCARY, amazing how close; you can read letters on buidings and recognize your car on the road! INCREDIBLE

By: One year of wmhartnett.com: Lots of cat pictures, idle opinion-mongering : William M. Hartnett

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 01:40:07 +0000

[...] 575 page views: Google Maps vs. Virtual Earth: A geocoding accuracy showdown in West Palm Beach (Jan. 15, 2008) [...]

By: January 2008 stats report : William M. Hartnett

January 2008 stats report : William M. Hartnett — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 16:04:41 +0000

[...] came this close to finally unseating the Hiphopopotamus post with my summary of our little geocoding accuracy comparison at work. Alas, it was not to be, and the stupid thing remains atop the standings as impenetrably as ever. [...]

By: wlrock

wlrock — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 03:49:19 +0000

No mystery here - there have been multiple posts in the last several months that Microsoft uses the Group 1 rooftop geocoder. All other mapping systems use street interpolation, which puts a pushpin approximately where the number of the house/business should be. In most populated areas (at least in the US), the Virtual Earth geocoder is bound to be MUCH more accurate.

Mr. Hartnett, I commend you for finding one of the many key areas that Microsoft is investing in to provide the best digital earth product available. They just don’t seem to make a lot of noise about it, but I know they’ve invested heavily in better aerial imagery, the exclusive Pictometry Bird’s Eye 45 degree shots, the Vexcel massively scalable 3D models capability (see the 75,000+ modeled buildings in Florida lately?)and even Navteq road data, available to developers through the APIs (Google uses Navteq on their own site, but only permits access to lesser quality roads via their API so they don’t have to pay Navteq).

Unfortunately, the user interface is not always the best, which pushes people to other, more intuitive services.

People who pay for a quality and reliable service will choose Microsoft. Those looking to create a free mashup can choose either, but will be more familiar with Google. See the weather.com interactive weather map (they pay Microsoft for Virtual Earth access on the site), vs. the weather they put on Google MyMaps, which they don’t have to pay for. It’s basically free advertising to them.

Lots of other differences, but you and your readers are 100% correct - it only matters if it matters to YOU in your area.

By: William M. Hartnett

William M. Hartnett — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 23:59:34 +0000

@Jim: All 400 addresses were residential, and only within incorporated West Palm Beach, not the larger metro area. I just added an Excel file of Matt’s test points to the bottom of the post, so feel free to download and play. And let us know what you think!