Free travel guide site Schmap has crafted a pretty nifty interface for iPhone and iPod touch users looking for spots to hit while travelling. Navigate to the city you're travelling through, pick a category like restaurants or banks, and scroll through the vertical list of results. Flip your iPhone/touch sideways, and points from the section of the list you were scrolling through are mapped out, and contact and directions info are provided when tapped. Pretty handy for finding notable spots nearby without having to cross over applications. Point your iPhone or iPod touch to the link below to access the web app (but regular browsers can head there as well).

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US-centric: Windows Live Maps has added a new feature called Clearflow, which suggests routes based on traffic conditions with the intention of getting you where you need to go quickly and with a minimum of traffic congestion. Rather than... Read More »

US-centric: Send detailed directions for getting around the city from your browser directly to your cell phone with web site HopStop. This webapp has been around for a while (we even posted about it a few years back), but... Read More »

US-centric: Google Maps mashup Mezzoman finds the perfect meet-up point for two addresses by establishing the midpoint and suggesting restaurants by cuisine nearby. Finding a good meet-up spot can be a bit difficult, and at one point or another... Read More »

Firefox only (Windows/Mac/Linux): Get directions to and from any address you see in your browser with GDirections, a Firefox extension that saves you the time of heading over to Google or Yahoo maps. After entering up to three pre-defined addresses in GDirections' preferences (like your home and office), selecting and right-clicking an address will allow you to get directions to the spot from those places, as well as enter the address into any of the sites you've installed in your quick search box. For those who regularly wipe out their cookies and have to re-enter their address into either Yahoo or Google Maps, GDirections is a real time saver. GDirections is a free download and works wherever Firefox (1.0-2.0) does.

Google Maps has added a saucy new terrain overlay to its already impressive view options. In addition to geographic terrain, this view also displays buildings in metropolitan areas à la Google Earth. You may also notice that the Hybrid view is now missing from the top row of buttons, but Hybrid view (which displays satellite imagery with street information overlaid) is now the default for Satellite view (though you can toggle the street information).

Ever look up an address on Google Maps and find that the pushpin for that address is more than a bit off? Now you can edit where Google pinpoints addresses (provided you're logged into your Google account) by clicking the Edit link and dragging the pin to a more appropriate location. Moves over 200 meters will need to be moderated before they're applied, and you can see the original location or recently-moved markers at any time. My parents' house in Iowa has always been about a mile off the mark so I've been dying for something like this, but unfortunately it looks like not all locations are currently supported.

Here's something which will be music to the ears of the directionally challenged. While the Tom Tom GPS device is quite popular here in Australia, you can't buy the software for your PDA over the counter. However the Bleeding Edge blog has discovered that you can buy the software online:

"You can grab a copy of the software itself straight from their website - you just have to buy the maps. To buy the Australian map, click "Maps" on the left of their home page, then "Buy Now". Select "NAVIGATOR 6" as your product, then "Map of Australia", and then go through the usual checkout process. It'll cost you $150, which is a pretty good deal for such a useful program."

Sounds like a good solution if you don't want to buy yet *another* gadget.

Buying Tom Tom in Australia [Bleeding Edge]