Workings of Google Map Maker

I was pleasantly surprised that there are more and more takers for Google Map Maker. The tool which is totally dependent on online technology and enthusiast contributions for building comprehensive maps. This idea a decade ago would have been difficult to even imagine ;). The Time lapse video of Madurai , India, sumps up the map making effort very effectively.



I enrolled myself as a member of the Map maker community and I see that this community is buzzing with activity. I congratulate the group in Google which is spearheading this initiative; it’s doing this job with an evangelical fervor. I see that several techniques are being tried out to validate the information provided by the community, which I think is the overriding reservation raised by sections of the mapping community against community map building. I have no doubt to say that validation techniques will get matured over a period of time and the community mapping will surely be one of the ways of building maps.


Surprisingly Pakistan cities are being rapidly updated by the community, how on earth can we imagine that we have an accurate digital map of a Pakistan city; this was only possible through the community initiative. I am sure, Pakistan will not be attractive for some more years for any global map maker ( TeleAtlas/Navteq ). At least, now, Pakistan will have an accurate online world class map which can be used by the community at large.

Low hanging fruit - a myth ?

There is enough research available which professes APAC as future growth engine of the world, which is also, a general consensus of economists. Specific to India, the commonly agreed thesis is that the demand will grow exponentially for all LBS related products and services. These reports emerging from all consultants worth their salt from some time now has made all the multinational companies making a beeline to APAC. Board members are not convinced if there is no India/China/APAC story in their overall strategy

However these markets are in no way “low hanging fruits”, In fact these markets is one of the toughest to crack. In this euphoria of virgin and emerging markets, companies should not forget the key issues which rule these markets and should take adequate steps to address them.


1. Localization: This is easier said done, but this is one of the key “hot button issues” which need to be addressed. All major MNC’s which are successful in India have learned to localize their products and services. Closest example which we can relate is Nokia in India. Brand research says that Nokia is the most trusted brand in India, beating the local giants like TATA. The overriding reason for this feat is told as localization in product design/services/price points/branding etc. Not many in west believe that KFC & Macdonald also sell the Pure Vegetarian delicacies in India; Localization at its best.

2. Innovation: No strategy meeting is complete without mentioning the word Innovation. Innovation should be on how we produce more and more with less and less resources, and on how do we identify and tap new revenue streams in this age where perceived value of products/services are nose diving. Process should always agree to “better solutions always exist”

3. Partnerships/LBS Ecosystem: Corporations need to be proactive in forging as many partnerships as they can in production, sales & services as there is no visible single large pie waiting to be exploited.

4. Operational Excellence: MNC’s need to out run the local bred companies in operational excellence in order to be afloat. MNC’s need to improvise constantly and apply new and challenging bench marks

5. Price Points/Business models/ Competitiveness: In these days of very low perceived value of products and services corporations need to focus on how they differentiate products/services and also ensure that the customer experiences the value differentiation. Basically its “walking-the-talk” Though India being the most price conscious market, it is also believed that price points, though important, is also not the overriding factor.

Travelogue- Harihareshwar

Took a trip recently to konkan coast, a beautiful get away around 250 Km from Pune towards South South West. The route I took is; Pune -Pachgani-Mahabaleshwar- Hariharesawar-Diva Ghar- Shrivardhan. Pune- Panchgani-Mahabaleshwar is a popular tourist destination for people from Pune & Mumbai owing to short distances.

Panchgani & Mahabaleswar are tourist resorts resting in the heart of Western Ghats ( Sahyadri). I started from Pune at 10 AM, reached Pachgani & Mahabaleshwar around noon. The entire stretch gives superb driving pleasure. I have to say that Grandeur of Sahyadris has to been experienced.

I had a short break in Mahabaleshwar and started proceeding to Harihareshwar, en route, I had to let past Pratapgad, ( It was soon getting dark and I had to reach harihareshwar). Pratapgad This is the place where Chartrapathi Sivaji killed Afzal Khan of Adilshahi forces; well described in Battle of Pratapgad, . This was the first significant military victory against a major regional power, and led to the eventual establishment of the Maratha Empire.

Had to negotiate serpentine roads, hairpin bends while descending Sahyadris to reach Harihareshwar,. Hariharishwar has an ancient Shiva temple overlooking the sea. We stayed in MTDC certified home, few hundred feet from the beach. Beach is clean, safe and ideal for swimming.

I also toured Shrivardhan & Divya Gargh; two more beaches, all within 25 Km radius, both beaches are very good, again ideal for swimming. The journey from Shrivardhan to Divyagarh is one of the beautiful sights, the road traverses hugging the coastline, you would not lose sight of the sea from the road during the entire stretch. I strongly recommend this route. En route is small fishing village named Shekhadi where arms, ammunition and RDX landed for use in Mumbai blasts 93

Both Harihareshwar and Divyagragh have MTDC hotels. I recommend staying in Harihareshwar and visiting Srivardhan& Divya Gargh. You will also find several homes which are certified by MTDC for providing tourist accommodation. Accommodation starts from 300 INR per night. Here,you would actually living with a family. I suggest to check this option instead of checking into an expensive hotel suite, you would get to know stories and legends linked to these places, more than that you will be making new friends. MTDC certified homes are listed in MTDC Website .I have stayed in a house owned by Madhu Smith (Retired Gentleman), house has very basic amenities; Rs 300 per night. I would recommend this place. Land lady prepares food for a reasonable price. Madhu can be contacted at 02147-226138 for reservations

I have tracked ( GPS Trace) the route through my Mio A701 GPS mobile, when I converted these GPS track files into a KML and overlaid on Google earth, I was pleasantly surprised.... Google had done really good job creating road vector layers, my GPS tracks were all hugging the Google’s vector road network. Having positionally accurate vector road data on these high relief areas on Sahyadris is a commendable job indeed by Google.

If you guys need a tracks in shape & kml formats please drop me a mail at contact@dinakar.com I will be more than happy to share with you…..

Technology Consolidation in Mapmaking

After the announcement of TeleAtlas on the availability of maps of India, the competition scene is clear and complete. 2009 is going to be an exciting year where the coverage, content battle will be fought by TeleAtlas (TomTom), Navteq (Nokia) and the local Indian players like SatNav and MapmyIndia. Interesting to also to know Google’s strategy on what they want to do with India data which they painstakingly built over the years, which by the way, is of excellent quality. To my mind, it appears that Google will come out with some innovative business model to commercialize this data very soon.

One thing is apparent is that there is a consolidation happening on the way the maps are made. TomTom is betting on its community feedback technology Map share where the central theme is millions of updates. Nokia labs are also testing their mobile platforms for community feedbacks. Google anyway is the original thinker of this entire process of community feedback which they call it as crowd sourcing. Google’s latest platform Mapmaker launched last month is dedicated to this effort.

Following this community feedback route are local Indian companies. SatNav for instance is pioneering an interesting offer to its clients with its “pay-per-POI” scheme called citizen map per. I think it’s a smart move towards enriching their datasets

This new way of map making and updating of maps will surely help location based products and services market to evolve and help generate the much required pull from the customers..

Manifold GIS...Worthy and affordable alternative to ESRI Products

I was surprised to receive a support mail from a customer which triggered a trip down the memory lane…what was interesting here is the customer was during 2001 after which I have switched jobs changed companies, the customer here is unique; Indian Defense, Project again, very secretive ; )


Made a promise to the customer that no matter where we are (meaning ..switch companies ;)) we will still support if there is a need, engineers who worked on this project have all left the company for greener pastures …I was very happy to receive this mail for support mainly because this proved that the customer was ACTUALLY using the software which was developed, and also for this long. Research says that 65% of custom IT solutions are seldom used..;)
I soon contacted my pervious company to know the status, and then suggested a small tweak which solved the issue….This episode renewed my respect for manifold GIS http://www.manifold.net/


We have used incredibly low-cost GIS Software Suite for this mission critical customized application software. The point that it worked these many years without hitch is a testimony to this GIS platform. Manifold was chosen with only with one criterion; affordability (I remember it was 245$ ) we could not afford ESRI enterprise software for the project. I see the version now as Manifold 8.0 ( We worked on ver 4.5). I can see that several features are added into the software. Though it is difficult to choose Manifold over ESRI, I strongly recommend Manifold which will help do the tasks differently and easily.

"Possession diminishes perception of value, immediately"

It’s finally here on 22nd August; Hype now has given way to some reality check for AirTel and Vodafone who were surprised on the consumer frenzy which was matching to iPhone’s worldwide release and surprisingly immediate signs of withdrawal….. Seems like Midas’s law working ….”Possession diminishes perception of value, immediately”

As the dust settles, market gurus are searching for answers of evident consumer withdrawal much to the delight of Nokia. Though analysts are pouring on daily basis on iPhone 3G phenomenon in India, to my mind three things are clear

Price Points : Though there are many compelling arguments; Rs 36000 (817 USD) price point for 16GB iPhone is a bit higher. Cost of ownership is not compelling to the user. Consumer, I think, is looking for cost restructure, similar to what Microsoft has done to Xbox in India, reducing the price points considerably in a span of one year.

Business models : As always, in India, innovative business models are the key. Vodafone/ AirTel, i think, are quickly reacting to the loosing consumer interest. Vodafone is announcing installment scheme to buy a iPhone and AirTel is bundling free data packages

Infrastructure : We do not have 3G networks. iPhone’s heart is 3G. AirTEL & Vodafone’s vehement appeals that we will have the 3G services in next 6 months, is not getting a buy in from the customers. Though it’s early to conclude, it appears that consumer wants to see 3G networks up and running and is willing to wait and postpone the buying decision.


….Finally, Guys, some one tell me how the navigation works on your iPhone 3G

Google Map – India Perspective!!!

I never stop marveling on what Google has done for India. Wholesome credit goes to Google for single handedly propagating “Location awareness” in India. The result is that now a school child knows and uses Google maps for his/her school projects.

I do not know what prompted google into map making in India which it has never done any where in the world. It’s remarkable that it went on mapping India while facing empty threats from politicians for making available high res imagery online. It was surprising that erstwhile President Dr Abdul Kalam also objected to hosting imagery, may be his defense related background clouded his rationale…

Google gets their map data either from Navteq, Tele Atlas ,AND etc, and never though of venturing into the job of low end, field intensive mapmaking, and that too at a time when the two reigning mapping giants of the world ( Navteq & Tele Atlas) were not that enthusiastic on India . Google guys are not morons and have repeatedly demonstrated that they are ahead in innovation & business models, they surely have ideas to what they eventually want to do with this data which they have built painstakingly. I am sure ideas are incubating in google labs on applications and business models to commercialize this rich content

This is one disruptive process that they have introduced and which is evidently working fine is crowd sourcing. Over generalizing, its almost the same as Open Street map which populates and shares user generated content, however in google’s case the IPR stays with google. I am sure google might be employing “contractors” and paying them to collect location data, hence the rightful IPR owner. What is fascinating is that it has employed light weight GPS kits with lightweight application to collect information and simple way to processing the data quickly in comparison to bordering to a legacy way of information collection by mainstream mapping companies. Latest is that google is extending crowd sourcing to contribute 3D models and enhanced content.

Several entrepreneurs have cropped up doing a excellent reverse engineering, often to the point of developing customizing image grabbing tools and geo referenced tiling it neatly which results in quickly recreating the accurate vector data and associated attribute data. These datasets are widely available, I have seen (do not want to name here) production level facilities working on google maps. These kinds of IPR infringements are expected especially in India where there is not much sensitivity IPR related things

Google has tremendously effected the Tracking space, this happed by giving free Google MAP API’s where in anyone can access the rich map background and put a Tracking solution in place. Google smartness has a telling effect here, it will charge for its API, if the traffic crosses a specific threshold. I have seen enterprise level applications using free google map API’s which include some Govt bodies. Need to stop here….to sum up, It’s a great feeling that Google has empowered millions of Indians with providing access to accurate maps FREE and this surely has earned respect and gratitude!!!!!

New IPhone 3G– Will the navigation application work in India ?

Apple has finally incorporated GPS chip in new IPhone 3G, This was the top wish list point of the users after seeing IPhone 1.0 , looks like apple could not ignore price point sensitivity this time , a 199 $ device will surely capture the imagination of mass market.

In India both Vodafone & AirTEL have announced that they will bring IPhone to India in July, although grey market is flushed with the IPhone 1.0’s. I am curious on how these carriers will price this device, particularly in context of Apples statement that $199 price point is applicable only in US.

Interesting to watch is also the availability of value added services from the carriers. Most importantly the Navigation application with turn- to- turn navigation & Loopt , location based community network tool. There’s a rumor that tomtom supplied navigation application, with a new dispensation; tomtom’s acquisition of TeleAtlas, this arrangement has new dimensions. Its still not clear, whose maps these applications connect; Google, AirTEL Navteq (now NOKIA) Tele Atlas??.

The highest probability is that the application uses Google maps; by far the most detailed and accurate maps available in India. Compelling reason for this may be that both navigation application & Loopt connect to goggle maps for their location based services in US, It would be easier to replicate these services here in India. And Google is way ahead in creating accurate content for India….

Google itself had a free light weight navigation application for download a year back; I do not see that link now. Looks like they have abandoned this application….
I am sure, iphone 2.0 ,when right priced, would eatup significant market share of NOKIA’s high-end devices.