Brightness & Contrast for Google Maps

GoogleMapsBW

This map uses the Google Maps API for Flash to create a number of controls that allows the user to adjust the brightness, contrast and saturation of Google Maps.

It is a great idea to give control over the look of the map tiles to the user. My thinking is that this could easily be emulated using the Google Maps API V3 Styled Maps options.

So who's up to the challenge?

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Elevation for Maps API for Flash

Google have added the Elevation service to the Maps API for Flash. Maps API for Flash developers can now add elevation profiles to their maps. As an extra bonus the service comes with a cool 3D twist.



The Google Geo Developers Blog has a great example of the elevation service being used with driving directions. In the example you can see the 3D feature in action. If you mouse-over anywhere on the elevation profile the map will zoom to your location and rotate the map to face the direction you should be facing if you are following the directions.

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Creating a Heat Map with the Flash API

Earthquake Heat Map

There are a lot of Google Maps mashups that use USGS data to show recent earthquakes on a global map. Earthquake Heat Map is an earthquake map that stands out from the crowd because of its very cool heat map visualisation of the USGS earthquake data.

Using the map it is possible to view global heat maps for earthquakes over 2.5 magnitude in the last day, for the last week or earthquakes of over magnitude 5 in the last week.

If you like the map then you will also be interested in the tutorial Creating Map Overlays with the Google Maps API for Flash. The tutorial helps explain how to create an overlay for Google Maps using the Google Maps for Flash API.

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Tripline's Use of Google Geo APIs

Tripline

The Google Geo Developers Blog has a great guest post from Byron Dumbrill, Founder & CEO of Tripline. Tripline was one of my Maps of the Week last month.

Tripline allows anyone to easily create an embeddable interactive Google Map of a journey or trip. I particularly like how the map uses animated lines to connect each stage of a user created trip. In the Geo Developers Blog post Byron discusses how Tripline decided to use the Google Maps API for Flash as the best platform to combine the maps, the animations and soundtrack elements in Tripline.

Byron says that another advantage of using the Google Maps API for Flash is that it makes the created maps easy to share. One of the great features of Flash files is that they are easily embeddable (e.g. YouTube videos). The embedded Flash files also contain a full-screen option that can also greatly enhance the user experience.

The lesson for other Google Maps developers is that if you want your users to be able to embed your maps then you should seriously consider using the Google Maps API for Flash.

Via: Google Geo Developers Blog

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