I'm currently working on an iPhone/iPad application that requires the latitude and longitude of a user's birthplace. To acquire these coordinates, the user would enter a search string containing a varying combination of Address/City/ST/Country, from which would be returned one or more standardized (formatted) address and subsequent lat/lon coordinates. If there is only one returned value, the user would accept it or opt to redo the search. If there are multiple returned values, the user is given the option to select one of the values or redo the search. Once acquired, I need only the lat/lon values, though I do display a map for the purpose of confirmation.
My current development incorporates the JavaScript API v3. But, while the current development is for a "free" application, I will no doubt want to launch a second version (or possibly an upgrade to a "premium version" for which I will charge a fee. (Why go to all the work of development just for the "exercise"?) And it takes way too much time to develop the interface and back-end support to just turn around and start all over for a paid version. While the acquisition of this piece of information represents less than 1% of the total work involved in the app development, it is nonetheless critical to the overall application. All the related work has already been completed, and up to now I have used my own 70,000 record zipcode database for this purpose. Unfortunately, 69,000 of the total records are US-based only and I need a more global coverage. I thought that the Google Maps approach would provide an excellent solution, as they have a very sophisticated set of routines. But reading the fine print of their user agreement, I'm not so sure I want to be so restricted with regard to my use of the application in possible (probable) future fee-based apps. WHAT I NEED: I'm wondering if anyone can suggest some good options for an alternate service for the acquisition of geospatial data (lat/ lon) based on the search criteria stated above. Thanks. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Google Maps JavaScript API v3" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/google-maps-js-api-v3?hl=en.
