In+ersec+ion for Spatial People

Spring is here, time to get outside and enjoy the warm weather!  Pixeostar has released a new location based GPS mapping app, called Blipp, that is great for the outdoors! This free app allows you to mark your memorable moments on a map and share them with Facebook friends. Imagine you are hiking up a mountain and you get a notification that 3 years ago your best friend was engaged there – how cool! From big events like weddings to smaller ones like catching your first fish, if it’s important to you, you can share it with Blipp.  Sharing life’s events with friends is important, and sharing them on an interactive map makes it even more special - it’s a great way to stay connected.

Contest Information:
To help promote Blipp we decided to run a contest. Check out official rules here: http://www.blippapp.com/contest/

At the end of the contest (April 30th) we will randomly select 1 entry and that winner will receive a Garmin Handheld GPS .

Please download the app here:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.blipp

Alliance provides new platform to access more than 500 National Geographic maps via Avenza’s database

TORONTO (January 28, 2013) – National Geographic Maps, one of the most trusted names in cartography for nearly 100 years, has joined with Avenza Systems Inc. to offer a new channel to access its rich map content. The alliance enhances Avenza’s digital map database by adding more than 500 maps from National Geographic, a world-renowned source, and furthers National Geographic Maps’ established reach with mobile consumers.

The Avenza PDF Maps app takes advantage of geospatial technology and allows travelers, recreationists and map lovers to view, acquire and interact with maps on their mobile devices, including iPhone and iPad, without worrying about data accessibility and international roaming charges. In addition, PDF Maps offers an in-app store to facilitate the transaction and delivery of those maps, consolidating, in a digital format, consumers’ access to hundreds of maps from multiple publishers.

“In the last decade, advances in technology have shifted how consumers receive and use information, and we have responded by making our rich map content available on a variety of platforms,” said Charles Regan, senior vice president and general manager, National Geographic Maps. “Avenza’s PDF Maps app provides a unique way for consumers to access our content with an easy-to-use in-app map store and a set of robust features that will enhance the map user’s experience.”

Hundreds of maps from National Geographic Maps’ extensive library are now available in Avenza’s PDF Maps system, including popular travel and destination titles covering five continents, historical and thematic maps, and educational and reference titles. The app provides constant access to geographic information and points of interest, with additional interactive tools such as measuring, place marking and location tagging. PDF Maps operates without the risk of lost reception, due to cell tower proximity – making it the ultimate traveling tool, as it does not rely on an Internet connection.

“Avenza PDF Maps provides the ability for anyone to share map-related information by documenting locations with customized notes, photos and descriptions,” said Ted Florence, president of Avenza Systems Inc. “This expands the utility of a map beyond location guidance, as it is also a tool to share experiences and locales with notes and photos. We continue to strengthen our community of map publishers and further advance the mapping tools consumers demand, and we look forward to seeing how the industry evolves in a digital age.”

PDF Maps is available now on the iTunes App Store free of charge for personal use. National Geographic maps can be accessed via the PDF Maps in-app store. For more information about the app, visit the Avenza PDF Maps website at http://www.pdf-maps.com or Avenza’s main website at www.avenza.com. Pricing of each map is set by the publisher, and free maps remain free to users through the PDF Maps in-app map store.

About National Geographic Maps

National Geographic Maps was established as a division of the National Geographic Society in 1915 and has been producing maps for National Geographic magazine and other Society media for nearly 100 years. National Geographic Maps publishes wall maps, outdoor recreation maps, travel maps, interactive maps, atlases and globes that inspire people to care about and explore their world. For more information visit www.natgeomaps.com.

About Avenza Systems Inc.

Avenza Systems Inc. is an award-winning, privately held corporation that provides cartographers and GIS professionals with powerful software tools for making better maps as well as the PDF Maps mobile mapping system. In addition to software offerings for Mac and Windows users, Avenza offers value-added data sets, product training and consulting services. For more information visit the Avenza website at www.avenza.com.

Contacts:
Christine Simmons / Shana Starr
LFPR Public Relations – www.lfpr.com (for Avenza)
949-502-6200 ext. 320/209
[email protected] / [email protected]

Kelsey Flora
National Geographic
202-828-8023
[email protected]

- Geospatial PDF reader updated with new features and tools -

Toronto, ON, December 21, 2012 - Avenza Systems Inc., the leading developer of cartographic software –including MAPublisher® for Adobe® Illustrator® and Geographic Imager® geospatial tools for Adobe Photoshop®– is pleased to announce the release of PDF Maps 1.6, the latest version of the popular map and navigation app on the Apple iOS platform. The PDF Maps app allows users to explore and navigate maps offline without having to worry about cellular data connectivity or incur data roaming charges compared to other streaming map apps.

"The focus of this release is about enhancing existing features and tools to allow our users to experience, navigate, and view maps on Apple iOS devices even better" said Ted Florence, President of Avenza. "Many of the optimizations and improvements have stemmed from user feedback. We're listening to our users and creating tools that suit their needs. In the end, we're making a much better product than even we anticipated," he added.

This release of PDF Maps offers many features including:

• Data collection - You can now create, import, and export attribute schemas with pick lists.
• Improved organization - Added folders to the Map List and the ability to move maps between folders.
• Nearby maps - Maps within 100 km will be shown when panning to the edges of a map.
• Measure Tool optimization - Measure Area and Measure Direction tools are now merged into one tool. There is also a new option to create custom units.
• New coordinate display format - Added the Degree Decimal Minutes format.
• Add placemark optimization - Placemarks can now be added while following your current location.
• GPS mode optimization - GPS mode is more tolerant to movements and allows adding placemarks while following your location.
• Photos taken within the app are now saved to the Camera Roll.
• Improved KML/KMZ file compatibility with Avenza MAPublisher and Esri software.

The PDF Maps app takes advantage of geospatial technology that allows travelers to view and measure real world locations and attributes. Paired together with mobile devices that utilize GPS, such as an iPhone or iPad, the PDF Maps app provides constant access to geographic locations and even points of interest without the risk of losing reception due to cell tower proximity – making it the ultimate traveling accessory for those that are enthusiastic about travel or anywhere internet bandwidth is not available or is cost-prohibitive when roaming internationally. In combination with the embedded map store PDF Maps takes map use commerce into the iTunes-like digital age previously reserved for music, books and videos.

PDF Maps is available now on the iTunes App Store free of charge for personal use. For more information about the app and Avenza Map Store , visit the PDF Maps website at www.pdf-maps.com. Pricing of each map is set by the publisher and free maps remain free to users through the PDF Maps in-app map store.

More about Avenza Systems Inc.

Avenza Systems Inc. is an award-winning, privately held corporation that provides cartographers and GIS professionals with powerful software tools for making better maps. In addition to software offerings for Mac and Windows users, Avenza offers value-added data sets, product training and consulting services. For more information visit the Avenza website at www.avenza.com.

For further information contact:
Tel: 416-487-5116
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.avenza.com

Done. Google Maps for iOS has just been made available. From the official description: "Navigate your world with Google Maps, now available for iPhone. Get comprehensive, accurate and easy-to-use maps with built-in Google local search, voice guided turn-by-turn navigation, public transit directions, Street View and more. Use Google Maps to discover great places to eat, drink, shop and play, with ratings and reviews from people you trust. Sign in to save your favorite places and quickly access all your past searches and directions from your computer, right on your phone."

MacRumors offers an entry named Roundup of Features in Google Maps for iOS: Better Design than Android Version, iPad Version Coming. Which includes:

• A horizontal two-finger swipe allows you to access a menu that shows traffic, public transit, satellite view and Google Earth (which sends you to the Google Earth app).
• Google's point-of-interest database allows you, for example, to read a restaurant review on Zagat, read the menu, book reservations and see interior photos at 100 restaurants.
• Pogue also notes there's a Compass Mode that allows you, at certain locations, to move your phone around and allow you to see the interior of a business on your screen.

- Regional conservation group now distributing its maps to mobile devices -

TORONTO, (May 7, 2012) - Avenza Systems Inc., producers of MAPublisher® cartographic software for Adobe® Illustrator® and Geographic Imager® geospatial tools for Adobe Photoshop®, announces that the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference has officially enrolled as a vendor in the Avenza Map Store, accessible through the award-winning PDF Maps app. In partnership with Avenza, the Trail Conference will make its popular series of over 50 hiking, trail and general recreation maps, covering a network of over 1,800 miles of public trails in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan region, available to recreationalists and adventurers for use on iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches.

“We are extremely delighted to have this well-known and time-honoured organization participate in the Avenza Map Store and are very excited to make their amazing series of maps available to mobile users,” said Ted Florence, President of Avenza Systems Inc. “The PDF Maps app is a great platform and many organizations are now seeing how easy it is to make their maps accessible to mobile consumers. We invite all map publishers to become a part of our vendor network.”

The PDF Maps app is an all-encompassing solution for the use, distribution and sale of digital versions of paper maps to mobile devices. It includes both an app for consumers to use, discover and purchase maps directly from their devices as well as an in-app store to facilitate the transaction and delivery of maps. Think of it as iTunes or iBooks for maps.

“This exciting use platform and distribution system for geo-referenced maps is perfect for putting our highly-detailed maps into the hands of our members for use on their mobile devices,” said Edward Goodell, Executive Director of the Trail Conference. “As more and more end users opt for and prefer to use maps on their mobile devices rather than paper it is essential that organizations like ours adopt powerful and cost-effective methods of delivering and using maps digitally. Avenza’s PDF Maps fits that bill.”

PDF Maps is available now on the iTunes App Store free of charge for personal use. For more information about the app, visit the Avenza website at www.avenza.com/pdf-maps. Pricing of each map is set by the publisher and many free maps can be downloaded at no cost through the PDF Maps in-app map store.

For more information on using The New York – New Jersey Trail Conference maps with Avenza PDF Maps visit http://www.nynjtc.org/pdfmaps.

More about Avenza Systems Inc.

Avenza Systems Inc. is an award-winning, privately held corporation that provides cartographers and GIS professionals with powerful software tools for making better maps. In addition to software offerings for Mac and Windows users, Avenza offers value-added data sets, product training and consulting services. For more information visit the Avenza website at www.avenza.com.

More about The New York – New Jersey Trail Conference

Since 1920, the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference has partnered with parks to create, protect, and promote a network of over 1,800 miles of public trails in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan region. The Trail Conference organizes volunteer service projects that keep these trails open, safe, and enjoyable for the public and publishes maps and books that guide public use of these trails. The Trail Conference is a nonprofit organization with a membership of 10,000 individuals and 100 clubs that have a combined membership of over 100,000 active, outdoor-loving people.

For further information contact:
Tel: 416-487-5116
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.avenza.com

Developer of the PDF Maps app seizes the highest honor with the IMTA Global Award

TORONTO, (December 6, 2011) - Avenza Systems Inc., producers of MAPublisher® cartographic software for Adobe® Illustrator® and Geographic Imager® geospatial tools for Adobe Photoshop®, celebrates its world-wide recognition from the International Map Trade Association (IMTA) as a top producer of cartographic software and innovative technology winning the coveted ‘IMTA Global Award’ at its November conference in Bangkok, Thailand. Accepting the award with its pioneering PDF Maps app, Avenza received the sought-after honor which recognizes the best products from three international Map Trade Association Regions. It is determined only once every few years from a list of mapping industry awardees –the best of the best-- from retailers of atlases and manufacturers of globes to developers of geographic information systems.

Along with taking home the highest accolade, Avenza Systems also secured the ‘Graham Stanton Award of Excellence’ –given to the best ‘product’ that stands out from seven individual categories, and the award for ‘Best Maps for Multimedia Application’ with its PDF Maps app on the iOS platform. PDF Maps leverages geospatial technology that allows travelers to view and measure real world locations and attributes. Paired together with mobile devices that utilize GPS, such as an iPhone, the PDF Maps app provides constant access to geographic locations and points of interest without the risk of losing reception due to cell tower proximity.

“The Avenza PDF Maps app is a wonderful and innovative new solution for delivering digital GPS-enabled maps to smartphones and tablet devices and on that, I am sure, all publishers will eagerly adopt,” said Peter Davis, president, IMTA, Asia-Pacific. “The growing trend for the use of an embedded, iTunes-like, digital map store is a revolution that promises to change the way in which maps are purchased and delivered in the 21st century.”

The PDF Maps app supports a growing database of maps featuring tens of thousands of maps authored, distributed or sold by individual cartographers, established map publishers, and government agencies. The marketplace provides a new e-commerce venue that allows those in the industry to have access to more than 200 million Apple iOS users seeking information about specific maps.

Avenza’s PDF Maps app and Map Store offer a medium by which map content can be easily repurposed providing a valid revenue stream for map publishers in an era when the industry is losing its market to digital products with GPS functionality. Publishers can upload intelligent PDF maps or GeoTIFFs – with or without the aid of Avenza’s cartographic map software – eliminating the publisher’s need to reprint costly annual updates to paper maps. Pricing of each uploaded map is determined by publishers not Avenza Systems. Maps that are available for sale can be purchased through the Avenza Map Store much like how music, videos, and books are currently purchased through iTunes.

“We are overjoyed and humbled to receive this tremendous acknowledgment from our peers in the mapping industry and I’m delighted to see that both publishers and consumers are finding so much use for the PDF Maps app,” said Ted Florence, president, Avenza. “This app and embedded map store solution is a revolutionary tool for acquiring, displaying and interacting with digital maps on mobile devices and tablets and it’s a key component which complements our other software products, integrating it with map production and publishing workflows.”

Currently, Avenza’s vast PDF Maps app library covering maps for domestic and international travel includes more than 55,000 USGS (United States Geological Survey) topographic maps organized by state and area. All maps available through the map store offer the following capabilities:

• Read geospatial PDF, GeoTIFF, and GeoPDF® maps
• Access and load maps through iTunes File Sharing or over a Wi-Fi or cellular network. Saved maps can be used without the need for a live network connection (offline).
• Browse, preview, purchase and download professionally created maps from the Avenza Map Store
• Quickly view, zoom and pan maps using gestures (pinch, drag and flick, double tap)
• View your location on the map using the built-in GPS device or via Wi-Fi triangulation
• Find coordinate of any location in the map, including the ability to type in a coordinate to search
• Display coordinates as Lat/Long (WGS84), Lat/Long (Map Default), Northing/Easting, or Military Grid Reference System (MGRS/United States National Grid (USNG)
• Add waypoints and collect/record information about locations, including photos
• Export, import and share waypoints and associated data, including photos using iTunes, e-mail or Dropbox
• Change pin colors, position and label namesMap rendering in higher resolution
• Overlay Google search results
• Measure distances and areas
• Open current map extents in the Maps app
• PDF Maps is available now on the iTunes App Store free of charge for personal use. For more information about the app, visit the Avenza website at www.avenza.com/pdf-maps. Pricing of each map is set by the publisher and free maps remain free to users through the PDF Maps in-app map store.

More about Avenza Systems Inc.

Avenza Systems Inc. is an award-winning, privately held corporation that provides cartographers and GIS professionals with powerful software tools for making better maps. In addition to software offerings for Mac and Windows users, Avenza offers value-added data sets, product training and consulting services. For more information visit the Avenza website at www.avenza.com.

For further information contact:

Tel: 416-487-5116 ● Email: [email protected] ● Web: www.avenza.com

For Immediate Release

HipGeo Launches "Trip" Features to Let Travelers Share their Journeys

 -- Anyone who travels with an iPhone can now instantly share animated trips with friends online --

Fullerton, CA - October 19, 2011 - HipGeo (www.hipgeo.com), a Los Angeles-based developer of a location-aware platform that records and displays the places users go and how they get there, today launched a new "Trips" feature. HipGeo users can use their iPhones to take pictures and track their travels then create, save and share their trips, micro-blogging their travels with active and passive features.

Users can download HipGeo from the Apple App Store at http://bit.ly/nB73Hw, and then record and share their trips through Facebook, Twitter, email, text or with an embedded HipGeo player on their blogs or web sites. Viewers of these trips can then see animated maps of the user's travels as well as slide shows of photos organized by location. Travelers can also share information such as locations, routes, places, comments, and photos.

"Our Trips feature adds context unique to HipGeo users," says HipGeo CEO Scott Daniel. "We deliver an automated way to capture and share photos, routes, and places, and it's the easiest way to create a compelling story with a smart phone. You can document any event, day, trip or travel, and then share it through popular social media sites, such as Facebook, adding a 'where' to your 'what and when.' This integration will not only improve the user experience, but will give people better ways to express their shareable moments."

About HipGeo

HipGeo (www.hipgeo.com) is a Los Angeles-based developer of a location-aware website and smartphone apps that automatically create a record of the places users go. APIs will be open to third-party developers by the end of 2011. The company was funded in May 2011, and its iPhone app was released in September 2011. The lead investor in HipGeo is Morado Venture Partners, a seed-stage fund run by former Yahoo! executives Ash Patel and Michael Marquez; other investors include Galen Buckwalter, former chief scientist of eHarmony, and prominent San Diego-based angel investor Robert Bingham.

# # #

In their round of announcements, Apple today announced the 'Find My Friends' location app and service. Here's what the Apple press release has to say about it:

"Find My Friends is a new app available as a free download from the App Store that lets you easily share your location with people who are important to you. Friends and family appear on a map so you can quickly see where they are. Find My Friends also lets you temporarily share your location with a group of friends, whether it's for a couple of hours for a dinner or a couple of days on a camping trip; when the time is up, the sharing ends. With Find My Friends, you get a notification every time you get a new friend request and if you give them permission, they can see your location. With a simple tap you can hide your location. Parental controls help you manage how your child uses Find My Friends."

It will be available on October 12th along with iOS 5. This service has similarities with Google Latitude, launched in February 2009.  

In related news, the iOS Maps app can apparently be invoked and used via the new Siri advanced voice recognition part of iOS 5.

I asked the OpenStreetMap LinkedIn group this question but did not get any satisfying answer, so I'm trying with the thousands of Slashgeo users now :-)

"On the OSM wiki, there's quite a few iOS Apps listed, but a lot of them don't focus on contributing to OSM and many of them do not seem to be in active development. Thus my question: what's the best iOS App for contributing to OSM according to you? It's for an iPad 2 [with GPS]. Thanks!"

Last time we mentioned Geopaparazzi, they were at version 1.1. Recently, Geopaparazzi 2.3.0 has been released.

A quick reminder of what it is: "Geopaparazzi is a tool developed to do very fast qualitative engineering/geologic surveys. Even if the main aim is in the field of surveying, it contains tools that can be of great use also to OpenStreetMappers as well as tourists that want to keep a geo-diary.Geopaparazzi is now available on the Android Market."

From the what's new for 2.3.0: "New features:

• integration of the osmdroid project (brings multitouch, minimap, scalebar, enhanced rendering, multiple tile sources...)
• enhanced tools in slider over map
• support for bookmarks"