This week we became aware of a new product from LocatioNet called Mobile Earth. It provides aerial photos of locations in Europe and allows for routing between locations. We understand it will be available over Vodafone. This, of course, makes it similar in functionality to such previous products as Wayfinder Earth and of course, the original instigator, Google Earth and Maps.

So far, mobile aerial products have really put me in a bind: On the one hand, they are really fun to play with. They have that "wow factor," and having an API into a mapping application with visual data is a powerful thing indeed, unleashing the plethora of targeted location products that center around Google Earth (such as cheap gas, celebrity sightings, speed traps, etc…). In the end, that API is probably the most salable feature. But here's my qualm: the aerial photos are really starting to bore me. They don't really help me either as a pedestrian or as a driver. They give a great vantage point for cropdusters and bombers, but that doesn't really help me (I know I'm being selfish). In the end, I personally really want that powerful location API tied to more constructive visual data, either the 3D vector and renderings found on Japanese navigation systems, or at least the sideways street views that are being collected in major cities, which can be seen on sights like Amazon's maps.a9.com (a9 refers to it as "block view"). Microsoft's live.com and Virtual Earth products, both in beta, also promise to offer similar functionality as can be seen here. Provide me with an eye-level view, with the powerful and open API, and deliver the results to mobile devices in standardized data format and I will be truly impressed.