A9 transforms traditional Yellow Pages

Amazon said Tuesday that it's launched its own interactive maps called A9.com Maps. While the interactive graphical portion of the map looks similar to offerings from Google and MapQuest (a division of Time Warner's America Online), and slightly better than Yahoo's and Microsoft's MSN maps, A9.com has one feature that's very unique.
A9.com, currently in beta, has a corresponding street-level image next to some addresses, along with interactive maps. The feature, called Block View, shows street-level images of places -- giving users a feeling of being immersed in the address they're looking up. Check out A9.com MapsThe service has 35 million images in more than 22 U.S. cities. But not all locations in the cities have been shot. While block views may seem like bells and whistles, especially when initially introduced as part of A9's yellow pages, the feature is practical -- especially for tourists that want to see where they're going. It's far more practical than seeing the aerial, satellite images offered by Google Maps.Separately, Google disclosed in its quarterly filing Monday that its cost of revenues rose in the second quarter by $4.5 million, due to products like Google Earth, with its satellite imagery.
A9.com has a long way to go to be the top map destination on the Web. Those honors go to MapQuest, with 39 million unique monthly visitors. Yahoo Local comes in second, with 22 million visitors, followed by Google and then MSN.
Via Bambi Francisco