• The Next Web, Thursday, March 1, 2012 12:05 PM

Who needs Google Maps? Not Foursquare, apparently. Dropping Google’s API, the location-based social network is now using OpenStreetMaps to show users where they are. The Next Web calls it an “interesting” move, “and one that the company says it has done because of a desire to support the start-up ecosystem.” In a blog post, Foursquare says it was surprised to find so many strong alternatives to Google Maps.

“When we initially began looking around for other map providers, we found some incredibly strong alternatives,” according to Foursquare. “And while the new Google Maps API pricing was the reason we initially started looking into other solutions, we ultimately ended up switching because, after all our research and testing, OpenStreetMap and MapBox was simply the best fit for us.”

MapBox, according to Foursquare, is “making gorgeous maps with the OpenStreetMap data.” As TNW notes, its MapBox Streets product was just released, so the timing was perfect. So far, however, some users are not happy with the change. As commenters on Foursquare’s blog post complain, OpenStreetMaps doesn’t currently have the breadth of coverage of Google Maps.

Read the whole story at The Next Web »