Though your statement states that my article “tries to establish that local players get sidelined” is generally correct. You failed to note the first sub-header in the story: “Are homegrown online maps being side-lined?”

I was referring specifically to the sidelining of online map platforms. QI is not a online map platform at the point of publishing.

As a fellow startup owner, I am happy to know that a local startup (QI) is benefiting from this tripartite relationship.

However, I am concerned on one point you raised–that “other companies can use the resources from all of these to build their map applications”. Prior to that statement, you cited the unique services of OneMap and QI.

I would like to point out to Techgoondu readers that these local “unique services” which also includes V3, are either not free or are notoriously difficult to gain access to, due to proprietary and/or legacy systems or the data owner’s own unwillingness.

Disclosure: I no longer write for Techgoondu and am currently hacking it as a social media manager at MediaCom and running a variety of other media-related projects on the side.

However, the way that Google works has meant that this collaboration has resulted in gothere.sg having a free traffic data overlay for their maps – so, it’s not a clear cut decision between winners/ losers.

I feel that there is a space for the local companies:
* GoThere has good local maps and has added great value in their public transport routing.
* QI does a lot more with real-time parking and traffic, and personalization – currently, only http://www.qi.com.sg offers traffic-aware routing free of charge online. (the article notes that Google doesn’t do traffic-aware routing at this stage)
* OneMap (ok, not a small local company!) has certain kinds of information that are not available elsewhere
* Other companies can use the resources from all of these to build their map applications.

Disclaimer: During the day, I work at QI.

Yet again.

LTA wins — and to be fair, so do Singaporeans — when they open their content data to all and sundry .

Google wins, and it’s a no-brainer for them to include the information into their platform for more reach and potential ad revenue. Look at just how they destroyed GPS app makers like Garmin and TomTom with their foray into free GPS map applications about a month back. Why would phone makers pay for the GPS app when they can get it for free?

So the ones that lose out are small players in the mapping space, like Gothere.sg. It’s a story oft-repeated in the tech industry: Promising enterprises get killed when a big competitor comes along and throws their huge colossal muscle behind it, no matter if the smaller company has a better product (at least for now till Google throws its R&D behind it).

For example, Gothere.sg has had street level views since last year — TBs of photos they had to go around and shoot all around the island — that Google will get around to do so. Their map data is their own and probably the freshest out there — hours of work driving down every Singapore street — and not based on existing maps of Teledata, like Google takes its map data from. And from a mobile perspective, Gothere (and even Rednano) already had mobile public transport routing available on their platforms, so this isn’t new by any long shot.

I’ll admit I’m biased towards Gothere — no, I don’t work for them in any form, shape or way — because I like the founders, their scrappy fighting ethic (journalists love an underdog), but mainly because their product is an excellent one that was crafted with sweat and tears. Unfortunately, they are running into a behemoth here.

An aside rant here.

Yes, I understand that our government loves to be technology agnostic and always picks the pragmatic route. But besides luring MNCs and importing talents at ludicrous rates, help our local start-ups, even if it means being a little biased.

And I don’t mean by disbursing money via MDA grants — a topic for another time — but by government arms sticking your neck out and giving these start-ups more business rather than doing the “safe” management thing and partner/buy from a large established MNC.