Wises Updated!

Ok, so one of the oldest mapping websites in New Zealand has been updated. I think everyone has been expecting an update like this for a long while now. wises.co.nz established itself many years ago. I grew in popularity because at the time there was no other mapping site that provided street data for New Zealand. It also included routing information which was a great advantage.

As the years have gone by, I have moved away from using Wises, mainly because I have become accustomed to using the newer Web 2.0 look and feel mapping websites.

As such, Wises has decided to go with the Web 2.0 look and feel. Standard features now days include seamless panning with scroll zooming. Predictive searching capabilities. Almost very similar to how Google Maps works.

So what is something that makes Wises stand out from the rest?

The points of interests. You can turn on makers for:
Amenities
Leisure
Dining
Travel
Accomodation

This is a great feature if you are trying to find something. Now I know most of the mapping sites like Google, Local Live all offer them already but there is no support for New Zealand POI’s.

From reading the help, http://www.wises.co.nz/help/, it looks like they will soon offer you the ability to save maps against your profile. Once again like Google.

The one thing that is lacking is the high resolution imagery. Would be good to see some added.

Oh forgot to mention it but Wises is now powered by GeoSmart. GeoSmart are know for the website they developed for AA New Zealand. I wrote an article about it last year: http://se7en.co.nz/cms/scrappad/archive/2005/11/15/1441.aspx.

Good work Wises!