Centamap
Encyclopedia
Centamap is a free web map service
that displays maps of Hong Kong
, launched in 1999. It obtains licensed map data from the Survey and Mapping Office of the Hong Kong Government
.
's YPmap. Centaline had intended to make money from the website using banner advertising, expecting revenue of $1–1.5 million a year.
's Lands Department, and it is jointly built by Cable & Wireless HKT's Telecom Directories Limited
(TDL), Centaline Property Agency, and a Canadian software house. The website shows the locations of various landmarks, places of interest, and property listings. Standard digital map functions are provided, such as searching by address, building name, street intersection and geographic co-ordinates, as well as panning
and zooming
the map. The map can be zoomed to an aspect ratio
as low as 1:500 or as high as 1:10,000. The search function utilised data from the Geographic Information System
(GIS). The website also showed census
data and photographs of scenic places.
An April 2000 review of several digital maps of Hong Kong and Macau
in The Asian Wall Street Journal complimented Centamap for having a search facility that allowed users to display, for example, a map showing a hotel by typing the hotel's name. The service was the only one that allowed maps to be easily copied and pasted into other documents. However, the reviewer lamented that the map lacked transport information and displayed only "the income and educational levels of the residents in [an] area", which was probably not useful to a visitor of Hong Kong. Another review in the South China Morning Post
that month noted that Centamap's website had a "no-frills" design, worked better in Netscape Navigator
than Internet Explorer
, and had less features than TDL's HKCityMap, which used the same Community Map data. By July 2001, Centamap had added links to government air pollution indexes across the city, the meteorological department's weather predictions and the government department responsible for selling aerial photographs; a review in the International Herald Tribune
commented that the site was a good example of how online maps can provide information that is impossible to present on printed maps.
Web Map Service
A Web Map Service is a standard protocol for serving georeferenced map images over the Internet that are generated by a map server using data from a GIS database...
that displays maps of Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, launched in 1999. It obtains licensed map data from the Survey and Mapping Office of the Hong Kong Government
Government of Hong Kong
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, commonly the Hong Kong Government, is led by the Chief Executive as Head of the Government, who is also the head of the Hong Kong SAR...
.
History
Centamap was developed by Centaline Property Agency at a cost of HK$6 million. The website was launched on 19 November 1999; within its first four days it had attracted 100,000 page views per day. At the time, it was one of two digital maps of Hong Kong that had been developed using map data from the government, the other being PCCWPCCW
PCCW Limited is the holding company of HKT Group Holdings Limited, Hong Kong's premier telecommunications provider in the Information and Communications Technologies industry. PCCW also holds a majority interest in Pacific Century Premium Developments Limited...
's YPmap. Centaline had intended to make money from the website using banner advertising, expecting revenue of $1–1.5 million a year.
Features
The website shows a single, seamless map of Hong Kong, the Community Map on Internet. The data for the Community Map is obtained from the Survey and Mapping Office of the Hong Kong GovernmentGovernment of Hong Kong
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, commonly the Hong Kong Government, is led by the Chief Executive as Head of the Government, who is also the head of the Hong Kong SAR...
's Lands Department, and it is jointly built by Cable & Wireless HKT's Telecom Directories Limited
PCCW
PCCW Limited is the holding company of HKT Group Holdings Limited, Hong Kong's premier telecommunications provider in the Information and Communications Technologies industry. PCCW also holds a majority interest in Pacific Century Premium Developments Limited...
(TDL), Centaline Property Agency, and a Canadian software house. The website shows the locations of various landmarks, places of interest, and property listings. Standard digital map functions are provided, such as searching by address, building name, street intersection and geographic co-ordinates, as well as panning
Panning (camera)
In photography, panning refers to the horizontal movement or rotation of a still or video camera, or the scanning of a subject horizontally on video or a display device...
and zooming
Page zooming
In computing, page zooming is the ability to zoom in and out a document or image at page level. It is usually found in applications related to document layout and publishing, e.g...
the map. The map can be zoomed to an aspect ratio
Aspect ratio
The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,...
as low as 1:500 or as high as 1:10,000. The search function utilised data from the Geographic Information System
Geographic Information System
A geographic information system, geographical information science, or geospatial information studies is a system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present all types of geographically referenced data...
(GIS). The website also showed census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
data and photographs of scenic places.
An April 2000 review of several digital maps of Hong Kong and Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
in The Asian Wall Street Journal complimented Centamap for having a search facility that allowed users to display, for example, a map showing a hotel by typing the hotel's name. The service was the only one that allowed maps to be easily copied and pasted into other documents. However, the reviewer lamented that the map lacked transport information and displayed only "the income and educational levels of the residents in [an] area", which was probably not useful to a visitor of Hong Kong. Another review in the South China Morning Post
South China Morning Post
The South China Morning Post , together with its Sunday edition, the Sunday Morning Post, is an English-language Hong Kong newspaper, published by the SCMP Group with a circulation of 104,000....
that month noted that Centamap's website had a "no-frills" design, worked better in Netscape Navigator
Netscape Navigator
Netscape Navigator was a proprietary web browser that was popular in the 1990s. It was the flagship product of the Netscape Communications Corporation and the dominant web browser in terms of usage share, although by 2002 its usage had almost disappeared...
than Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer
Windows Internet Explorer is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting in 1995. It was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95 that year...
, and had less features than TDL's HKCityMap, which used the same Community Map data. By July 2001, Centamap had added links to government air pollution indexes across the city, the meteorological department's weather predictions and the government department responsible for selling aerial photographs; a review in the International Herald Tribune
International Herald Tribune
The International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 38 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 160 countries and territories...
commented that the site was a good example of how online maps can provide information that is impossible to present on printed maps.