Bing Maps API - Articles
The Bing Maps REST Services is a REST API that allows you to perform tasks like finding an address, retrieving a map with a pushpin and a label, or getting driving directions. It provides a way to create a static map with pushpins, geocoding an address, retrieving imagery metadata, or creating a route etc. Microsoft Bing is a web search engine.

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Microsoft Expands Bing Maps API Autosuggest Capability
The Autosuggest feature of the Bing Maps API now includes business suggestions from eight new countries. The feature prompts users with suggestions for intersections, location, businesses, and more. The new countries include Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, and Spain.
Bing Maps Time Zone API Now Generally Available
The Bing Maps Time Zone API is now generally available. The API is a set of REST APIs designed to cover a variety of scenarios developers often deal with when it comes to time zones. Among the capabilities of the API are time zone conversion, list time zones, and find a time zone.
Microsoft Bing Unveils Two New Bing Maps APIs
Microsoft's Bing has launched a private preview release of two new Bing Maps APIs. The Bing Maps Location Recognition API and Bing Maps Autosuggest API allow developers to deliver new kinds of experiences and provide richer analytics about locations at which users are situated.
Microsoft Launches Bing Maps Distance Matrix API
Microsoft has launched the Bing Maps Distance Matrix API which returns the travel times and distances between a set of origins and destinations. The API can be used in applications to solve the Traveling Salesman Problem and Vehicle Routing Problem returning the best route for a set of locations.
DataLook Hosts #openimpact to Encourage Replication of Civic Good Open Source Projects
International civic tech startup DataLook is hosting a replication marathon to encourage local reuse of 10 projects to highlight the potential of open source for civic good.
Best New Mashups: Week in Review Featuring Bing Maps, Deezer and Cicero
With the weekend coming up let's take a look back at the mashups that were added to the ProgrammableWeb mashup directory over the last couple of weeks. We'll cover mashups that include a tool for local discovery, a jukebox for your phone, a political social network and an app showing real time statuses of DC metro lines. Read below for more details on each.
23 Google Maps Alternatives
Google Maps is still the top choice for adding maps to the web. It's powerful, customizable and for most sites, free. However, Google Maps pricing did encourage several large sites to make the move to other options, most recently foursquare. If you're also looking to move from Google, our API directory has several JavaScript-based options to consider.
Garmin's Year of User Revolt Over Switch to Bing Maps
A year ago users of Garmin's sport tracking devices logged into its Garmin Connect site to find a seemingly minor change. Instead of embedding Google Maps, the GPS manufacturer had switched to Microsoft's Bing Maps. According to the 38 pages of comments in Garmin's forums, this was in actuality a major change. A year later, Garmin responded in October by giving users the option of Bing or Google.
Bing Health Map Shows Promise of Open Government Data
The Health team at Bing used public data to create a Health Map application (requires Silverlight) that lets users visualize a number of health indicators, such as obesity and premature births, by U.S. county.
Bing Wants Your Apps on Its Maps
For months, the Bing Maps site has been showing off what are essentially embedded mashups. You can search nearby tweets, FourSquare check-ins and other content from partners. Until now, it was merely a showcase of apps either written internally or by a company that Microsoft had blessed. Now, you have the opportunity to get your mashup included on Bing's map.
TaxiCity: A Game Combining Open Data and Bing Maps
Better hurry--you have passengers to pick up and only a handful of seconds to get them to their destination. TaxiCity takes place on the actual streets of Vancouver. The game was created by students using open data and the Bing Maps API.
Weather Sites + Bing Maps
Though Google Maps may still be the choice of most developers, Bing continues to be a contender. Microsoft evangelist Chris Pendleton points out a new Weather.com feature and mentions it has used the service since back when it was called Virtual Earth (the switch only happened this June).
Bing Maps Says Go Ahead, Broadcast Your Mashup on TV
Bing maps has announced that broadcasters can now freely display bird’s eye, aerial, road, hybrid, and Streetside images in their presentations.
Vancouver Olympics Mapped by Google and Microsoft
The Winter Olympics start this weekend and there's no shortage of ways to enjoy them. That includes via map mashups showing facilities, parking and the path of the torch relay. All thanks to the Google Maps API and Microsoft's Bing Maps API.
Bing Maps API Gets StreetSide Panoramas and Enhanced Bird's Eye Imagery
There has been a lot of geo-related news lately, and in part that's due to the ongoing release of new APIs, features, functionality, and data for mapping and location platforms. The latest news is the addition of the recently released StreetSide panoramas and enhanced Bird's Eye imagery to the Bing Maps API. A little over a week after these new features were added to Bing Maps they have now been exposed via several methods in the Bing Maps API (our Bing Maps API Profile).
Bing Maps Goes Silverlight: Now with Streetside Immersion, Enhanced Bird's Eye View, Photosynth, and More
Microsoft has just released a new Silverlight version of Bing Maps that is full of new features and upgrades. Although it's hard to say whether this release of Bing Maps has "stolen the cool crown" from Google, the new features do provide some additional value for users. The "beta" release is not yet available by default, though you can preview the latest version at: http://www.bing.com/maps/explore.
Visit Your Favorite Twilight Locations on a Bing Map
Okay, you can admit it. Either you love the Twilight books and movies, or you pretend to hate them for fear that you might actually dig it. In any case, you certainly have a Twilight fan you can send to this virtual Twilight tour of Forks, Washington, and the surrounding locations from the movies (click "explore locations").
GoDaddy Helps You Find Domain Names Using Bing Maps
Who says all the domain names are taken? Registrar GoDaddy has come up with a fun way to search for local website names by combining keywords and neighborhoods. The results are plotted on a map using the Bing Maps API.
Make Bing Maps Sing In PHP
What's this, Microsoft pushing an open source programming language? Indeed, there is an integration kit that gives developers a boost creating a database-powered Bing Maps application.
Goodbye Virtual Earth, Hello Bing Maps
It's been a short time since Microsoft announced the release of Bing, their next generation search platform (with its own Bing API). Along with the name change, several of Microsoft's product offerings have also rebranded, including two core mapping products: Live Search Maps and Virtual Earth. This means that Virtual Earth API will be no more -- it is now officially called the Bing Maps API (we've added a new Bing Maps API profile).