Yahoo! Maps

• Yahoo! Maps provides users with the standard directions and business searching, but also feature its own useful tool. When you click and drag the application's main map around you will notice a cross-hair in the center become repositioned on new areas. Wherever this cross-hair is located is the area that Yahoo! will search for businesses. For example, if you're taking a trip to Austin, Texas, and are unfamiliar with eating establishments there, move the cross-hair to the city and then type "Restaurant" in the business finder. A list of locations will be displayed in the area as well as their contact information. The closer you zoom in on the area, the more refined your results will be. This can be useful when you don't know streets or zip codes in the area you are searching in. Yahoo! Maps also feature a live traffic view that users can check before they head out on their morning and evening commutes.
  
  

Bing

• The map function on bing.com cuts through the excess features and focuses mainly on one function: finding directions between two locations. When you first load up the application, you are presented with a map and two boxes to input point A and point B. Any other features must be searched out. Bing will attempt to predict cities and zip codes if you neglect to enter them in, making entering your destination a fairly quick task. One feature that sets it apart from Google Maps is that Bing will provide you with landmarks to look for while driving. For example, during a test search it listed which gas stations were located at intersections as well as informing what streets the final destination was located between. Bing points out that if you see a certain street ahead of you, you've gone too far.
  
  

MapQuest

• Before there was Google Maps, there was MapQuest. Still available, MapQuest offers users the standard direction searches while also including a few additional features. A button on the map, when clicked, will reveal local gas prices, allowing commuters to find the best deals on a fill up. Located on the far right of the map is a tool bar that features popular entertainment and dining destinations. Click on "Parking Garages," for example, and locations will spring up on your map, ensuring you won't be forced to park three miles away from the movie theater. MapQuest also pushes its mobile phone compatibility from the main site, listing compatible devices. As of December 2009, only Blackberries are compatible with MapQuest.