Multimap UK only gives you maps and directions.

Some sites, like RAC and yell, provide Multimap maps, directions, and more. They may give you extra information - the RAC provides very useful traffic reports. Other companies make Multimap faster and easier to use. For instance, toolbars place instant access to maps at your fingertips. Some companies help you both ways. Yell allows you to search by business name, which may be quicker and easier than postcode search, and they provide extra business information.

Multimap UK only

This section is aimed at beginners, and explains how to obtain a basic Multimap UK only map.

If you are based in the UK, then clicking through to the Multimap site, or the appropriate page of a third-party associate, takes you to a page that automatically gives you UK maps. If not, a simple pull down menu allows you to select the country.

To get a Multimap UK only map, on the Multimap site, start by locating the find a map field on the home page. Enter the address, town, or postal code. If you don't know all these pieces of information, type in what you can. The software can deal with incomplete information. The postal code is the shortest, most accurate search term you can use for Multimap UK only addresses.

After clicking the find button, you are shown the location required in a map of the area.

Multimap UK - not the only game in town

Multimap UK (multimap.co.uk) is not the only map provider in the UK. Several other companies provide great maps.

As mentioned earlier, Multimap UK provides maps for bing, RAC, yell, and several other companies. But the main competition for Multimap UK, in terms of the maps themselves, comes from Google Maps and MapQuest. They also provide maps for third parties. For instance, Google Maps provides maps for the AA. If you are comparing the maps themselves, make sure they actually come from different providers!

As we said before, it is worth investigating different sites showing Multimap UK maps, depending on your needs. When looking for businesses, yell is a good choice. If you are just going for a drive, the RAC site is a must. But if you are wanting to compare the raw data, the maps or driving directions, then compare Multimap directly with Google maps and MapQuest.

So, if you are planning a difficult journey, how should you proceed? First, I think, it's a mistake to look at the raw data from only one site, even one as good as Multimap UK. To avoid mapping errors, and to find all the raw data out there, I would always get details from the three main map sites (Multimap, MapQuest, Google Maps) and then supplement them with useful third parties. For instance, looking at accident updates from the RAC and AA would be a bare minimum.

Just typing your destination address into bing and Google can be very useful, such a search may throw up travel tips, hotel recommendations, restaurant reviews, or other useful items.

Multimap UK v. Google Maps

Multimap UK recently added the ability to use draggable driving directions, following the lead of Google Maps. At the time of writing, they are available on the Multimap powered Bing service, but not on the multimap.co.uk site. This reflects ongoing experimentation by Multimap to see if quick, basic maps are preferred to maps with lots of features, which may perform too slowly for some customers.

With draggable driving directions enabled you can directly alter any route shown on a map with your mouse. As you drag the cursor over towns and features the route automatically alters along with the driving directions. If you use this feature often, keep checking the offerings from both companies, they are likely to compete heavily to optimise this very useful feature. At the time of writing, dragging the driving directions on Google Maps is faster, and the map is better defined.

In 2009 Google Maps started rolling out its Street View UK product, to great controversy. Multimap UK responded by launching an advertising campaign targeting the advantages of Multimap maps over Google Maps.

Multimap UK only coverage

• Multimap UK covers the whole of the United Kingdom, that is, Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man. Great Britain includes England, Scotland, and Wales.

Features of Multimap UK

The main offering of Multimap UK is, of course, maps. To get a map, from the Multimap UK homepage, as explained in detail in the first section, you simply enter the address, town, or postcode of any house or business covered by the map.

• Multimap UK also gives you straightforward access to driving directions. Simply enter the starting address and the destination address in the fields accessed from the top menu of the "find information" page.

Multimap UK provides useful information on the maps obtained via the search field, including links to appropriate Wikipedia entries, and details of features useful to travellers, such as icons of tube stations, railway stations, parking facilities, tourist information offices, and a lot more. These are neat features that are great complements to facilities provide by Google Maps, Yahoo Maps, MapQuest, and other map sites.

The overhead pictures provided by Multimap UK are often the clearest you can find on the web. So if you want to know what a UK destination looks like, Multimap UK is a good place to start. But Google are working hard to catch up, and provide street level views that often provide a useful supplement to the Multimap pictures.

Not only Multimap UK

Multimap UK gives you access to maps from many other countries, Multimap is not for the UK only. In fact, Multimap provides driving directions for more countries than MapQuest. MapQuest only provides details for North America and Europe. Multimap provides driving directions for many other locations, from Australia to Turkey, from Russia to Malaysia.

Multimap UK history

Multimap UK (multimap.co.uk) began life by selling maps for a few pence over the internet. The power of its software and the success led to Microsoft acquiring Multimap UK in 2008. Multimap UK offer the same service as before the Microsoft acquisition.

Multimap UK - Ordnance Survey Maps

One advantage that Multimap UK has over most other mapping companies is the provision of Ordnance Survey maps. Multimap Ordnance Survey Maps can be embedded in your web pages, and you can customize tools for using the map, or add points of interest. Such features can be used freely for non-commercial purposes, but commercial ventures require some payment to MultiMap. Multimap UK have quite stringent copyright conditions for the use their maps, as do the Ordnance Survey, so check the Terms and conditions on the Multimap UK site before thinking of embedding any of their maps.

Multimap UK News

Mar 22nd, 2010 UXPeople, the people behind the Multimap user experience, held a training event in London. Their other clients include The National Lottery, BBC, BT, KLM, Ford, Reuters, Orange, HMV, Logica, Multimap, Universal Music, Becta, Cisco, and RBS.

Feb 24th, 2010 Multimap UK might benefit from Google antitrust proceedings by shopping comparison sites Foundem and Ciao, who have complained to the European Commission, accusing Google of posing "an immediate threat to competition and innovation." Google's share of the UK mapping market spiked in early 2007, and Multimap UK's share dipped sharply, along with that of other mapping companies like Streetmap.co.uk. Google argue that the complaining companies might be unduly influenced by Microsoft.

Nov 17th, 2009 Multimap homepage adds a link to Bing maps to demonstrate Multimap UK only maps at work on bing.com. Compare Bing maps and Multimap maps and you will see they look similar and offer similar features, like Ordnance Survey, London Street maps, draggable routes and a London tube overlay. Microsoft has been using Multimap's mapping engine behind much of its map based software since Microsoft took over Multimap.

Multimap UK visitors in 2009 - Between November 2008 and November 2009 the number of visitors to Multimap UK website remained around the 2000 visitors a day mark.

Multimap UK in Welsh - Since November 2004 Multimap UK provided "Travel Directions" service on Cardiff University's web site in Welsh! Check their website to see other language features.

Multimap UK - Summary

In summary, Multimap UK (multimap.co.uk) provides superb schematic maps, useful 'real world' views, and access to many sources of pertinent information. It also provides great driving directions, but has strong competition, in this area, from companies like MapQuest UK.

Google Maps provides features that are useful supplements to the Multimap UK (multimap.co.uk) offerings. For instance, Street Level maps nicely complement Multimap's bird view.

Whatever your mapping needs, you should take a belt and braces approach, and explore maps & directions from a variety of map sites. Multimap UK (multimap.co.uk) should certainly be one of those sites.