Wow, it's been 2 months since a blog update! We've been busy working on a bunch of projects and finally found some time to expose new functionality in the API. We're also getting close to a version 1.2 release, which will include the ability to draw charts with the data in Pushpin Collections.

For now, the major feature included is the exposure of our geographic boundaries, e.g. zip codes, states, counties, etc. We're calling these boundaries "places" and they are represented by the PPlace object. There's also a new function getPlace() in PClientGeocoder that lets you search these places. Click here to see a list of the different types of places that we currently support. We'll be constantly adding more types, the next ones being world countries and cities. Click here to see an example for searching places.

Other features included in this release:

• The ability to set the opacity for map layers, using setOpacity() in PMapLayer.
• The ability to enable zooming with the mouse scroll wheel, using enableScrollWheelZoom() in PMap.

We've been busy trying to get out a slew of features for the Location Intelligence conference.

For starters, we've released a new look and redesign for Pushpin.com that shows off the different types of maps that we can support. As well, there's a link on there for developers to easily sign up for a 30-day free trial API key.

Next, we've loaded over 10,000 variables and indicators into a massive catalog that we're calling Pushpin Collections from sources including ESRI and Claritas. All of the variables can be shaded by state, county, zip, census tract and all the way down to the block group level. These thematic variables can be added to maps the same way as before, e.g. using PMap.setIndicatorById(). Browse Collections or check out the demo page to see some of these variables.

As well, we've included more predefined map layers in the API Catalog.

Enjoy!

We've included a new zoom level (15) at scale 4500, that includes gray buildings in major cities. There is a new base layer as well, accessible via PMapLayer.BASEELEV, that shows elevation and contour details at certain zoomlevels.

We now have the ability to host point data and make it available via the API, with the option to render them on our servers to optimize the viewing of large amounts of pins. Click here for an explanation on how to get started or go straight to the example. Updates to the API include:

• A new constructor for POverlaySet that takes an ID that represents the point dataset.
• A new method identify() in PMap that looks up a given point and determines if it exists in the overlay sets that are turned on, and if so returns the closest results with their attributes.
• Additional properties for PAttributeFilter to allow for filtering from a predefined set.

So far, we've included the NAVTEQ Points of Interest. Click here to see the catalog.