Sina Technology News, March 5th morning Beijing Time - The American check-in service website Foursquare has announced that it will stop using Google Maps service and switch to the open-source map software OpenStreetMap, establishing a new partnership with startup MapBox.
In an official blog post, Foursquare stated: "We love the idea of supporting OpenStreetMap's open data initiative, and MapBox offers great flexibility for custom map design. Although OpenStreetMap still has a long way to go and requires work to create a map collection of the entire world, we are extremely excited about the product we are building."
Although the apparent reason for Foursquare abandoning Google Maps is the high cost of the API (application programming interface), Foursquare believes that the foundation of the new service represents an improvement in quality.
However, Foursquare pointed out that its mobile application will continue to use the Google Maps API. Considering the popularity of this Google service in the smartphone field, there won't be any noticeable change in the proportion of Google Maps users. (Xiaoming)
Related reports:
- Co-founder of Foursquare announces resignation but retains director position
- Rumor has it that Foursquare received $50 million investment, valuation exceeding $600 million
- Foursquare self-transformation: set to become a life assistant
- Google Latitude introduces check-in point rewards challenging Foursquare