I have long been looking for an alternative to Google Maps, and I have found one: Bing Maps with OpenStreetMap. The OpenStreetMap support is added as layer for Bing Maps and the newest Bing Map App in the gallery. Lots of layers are available.

The solution is absolutely awesome, as Bing combines (mashup) OpenStreetMap and Flickr. On the screenshot you can see photos that I have published on Flickr from Mindszent and Mindszent on OpenStreetMap. I fast opened an OpenStreetMap account and added quite a few streets today.

openstreetmap-mindszent

I have also bought the iPad/iPhone application OffMaps, and it combines maps from OpenStreetMap with information from Wikipedia. So take that Google, one less service I use from you!

So why is OpenStreetMap getting so important? People, like you and me, gather location data across the globe from a variety of sources such as recordings from GPS devices, from free satellite imagery or simply from knowing an area very well, for example the area where they live. Maintaining maps cost a lot of money, so user input is very important to keep maps up to date. I for instance brought my geotracker on my trip to Rondane National Park in Norway, and would like to contribute the data to OpenStreetMap.

For more information, please visit the Bing Community blog.