Tag: Ayna Maps

Ayna Adds Satellite Imagery To Mobile Version Of Ayna Maps

MMM 13 Comments

Ayna Giza Satellite Image

As promised when they first launched the mobile version of their mapping service, Ayna.com has gone on and launched a satellite imagery feature for this mobile version, allowing users to see a high-resolution aerial snapshot of the location they are looking for.

Users of the service can now enter any address in the Middle East on Ayna maps, and click on the “Satellite” link to locate and zoom into the wanted area till having the closest image.

The satellite imagery service on the mobile is empowered by DigitalGlobe technology and updated for 2008, allowing users to view the entire world and zoom into 26 Middle East and North African cities, with streets, malls, points of interest, geographic information, buildings and more, directly from their mobile phones.

The satellite map has the same features existing on the normal map: finding points of interest, getting directions, saving favorites, sharing with friends …etc.

The satellite imagery feature should also be available on the web version of Ayna maps soon.

# Ayna Mobile Maps

Ayna Launches Free Mobile Mapping Service For The Arab World

MMM 6 Comments

AynaAfter launching their online mapping service last year, Ayna has gone on and launched the first locally produced Arabic and English mobile mapping service as promised.

The application, unveiled this month, uses GPS technology on the latest-generation mobile phones to give directions and maps to points of interest from the user’s location.

According to Mazen Halawi, the corporate sales manager for Ayna Corporation, it contains detailed information about all major Arab cities and capitals, with numerous points of interest which are searchable, and that will be updated regularly.
It works in a similar way to Google Maps but has the added advantage of routing, or step-by-step directions to a destination, something unavailable for the Middle East through Google Maps.

The service is available for all types of phones except the iPhone and can be downloaded in two formats, for keypad and touch-screen phones, free from the Ayna website.
Users can also send directions to their favourite spots to friends through SMS.

Ayna is also presenting this as a value-added medium for advertisers who seek local advertisements, like banks, restaurants, points of sale, and others.

The application will soon add satellite images, which will allow users to view areas in maps, satellite and a hybrid view.

According to numbers released by the company, the application has been downloaded 12,800 times in its first week.

Ayna launched its online version of its mapping service in November and has more than 50,000 points of interest logged into its Arabic maps so far.

# Ayna Mobile Maps

Ayna Launches Beta Of Online Map Service for the Middle East & North Africa

MMM 11 Comments

AynaA few days ago, Arab search engine Ayna launched a beta version of Ayna Maps, a service that provides interactive maps of places and businesses for all major Arab capitals in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Ayna is one of the first Arabic search engines in the region, and now aims to grow its search services by providing more types of information like its new street level map service covering 26 cities in 17 countries and presented in Arabic and English.

Ayna maps aims to provide detailed street level mapping that is not available through any other online service, including Google, Yahoo, and MapQuest; in order to give businesses and individuals alike the possibility to easily locate and add points of interest. As of the launch, Ayna Maps are preloaded with over fifty thousand searchable points of interest available in Arabic, English and French to meet the needs of local audiences.

Businesses will be able to mark their physical location on a map to guide their customers, and easily embed the marked map in any web site along with their contact details, such as name, address, phone, email, and a descriptive summary.

Doha Ayna Map

Cities covered by Ayna maps include: Beirut (Lebanon); Damascus (Syria); Baghdad (Iraq); Amman, Aqaba (Jordan); Riyadh, Jeddah, Mecca, Madina (Saudi Arabia); Kuwait City (Kuwait); Doha (Qatar); Manama (Bahrain); Dubai, Abu Dhabi (UAE); Muscat (Oman); Sanaa (Yemen); Cairo, Alexandria, Sharm El-Sheikh, Hurguda (Egypt); Khartoum (Sudan); Tripoli (Libya); Tunis (Tunisia); Algiers (Algeria); Rabat, Marrakech (Morocco).

Ayna Maps future releases include providing routing and directions, updating map data, and publishing submitted points of interest for businesses in the region. A mobile version of the map service will also be launched soon.

The idea is a very useful one and really needed in the region, and for an initial beta release it is pretty good; Hopefully future versions will have more detailed and revised maps, with more integrated points of interest.

# Ayna Maps