Google Maps vs. Bing Maps

When I Googled “Microsoft Live Maps” I figured there was a 50% chance it no longer existed. Turns out it’s now bing maps and (more surprising) it looks pretty great – better colors, smarter labels, more accurate paths, better (I’d argue) 3D hinting, much more legible overall.

Before we jump to any conclusions, though, keep in mind that Google Maps is probably a lot more interested in mobile applications than desktop browsing. Check out how the two compare on an iPhone.

Lessons? Google values function over form, and bing values good-looks because it gave up on functionality a long time ago. Seriously, it took me about 3 minutes to navigate to this view on the bing app. The next challenger?  Apple, of course.