Mango = Layar, Skype, and almost too much to name...

Just a quick YAY! After the recent MIX reveals it seems like my Layar wish will come true with Mango! Now I'm "just" waiting for a resolution of the Google (Maps) vs Bing (Maps) situation in the Netherlands.

Google Maps should (no: must) come to WP7

With my personal interest in maps and mapping I read the blog post about Google Maps on WP7 (using the Bing Maps Silverlight control) by LocalJoost with great interest.

He mentioned a lot of pageviews to this post shortly after posting it, and I just saw him tweet about his post being picked up on by wpcentral.com.

I think it's great that wpcentral.com did pick up on this. However, I do not agree at all with the first part of the possibly meant to be funny footnote by Daniel Rubino:

Yeah, I know. Who would want to use Google Maps when Bing kicks so much butt? [...]

I suspect that Daniel is both Microsoft biased (not really a problem for me) and not based in the Netherlands, because even though I hear a lot of positive things about Bing Search and Bing Maps, I keep comparing it to Google Search and Google Maps and have not switched yet.

To be frank and rather blunt about it: Bing can't stand in the shadow of Google. Or at least it cannot in the Netherlands, which happens to be where I live and use these services almost exclusively.

Before anyone starts comparing actual mobile client features I want to point out that this is mainly related to (probably) legal and data issues and not to the technology. I just have the feeling Google in general "finds more" for me, gives me more useful results. Also, I like the visual style of Google Maps more than that of Bing Maps at the moment, but that could just take some getting used too.

So for now I'll take Google over Bing any way I can get it. And that includes a Google Maps client for WP7, preferably written by Google itself and including all the official Google Maps features.

Google, are you listening...?

So Google logos are location specific?

Today I saw something interesting when I opened the Dutch Google search page

The ALT text said "150 jaar Max Havelaar" and this doodle is not in the official Google logo list for oktober 2009.

Does this mean that local branches of Google are actually creating localized logo doodles that are independent of the official world wide ones? And if so, what's then the use of the global logo list? Mmm...