Images: Amazon envisions better local listings
Shoppers in Boston and Seattle, among other cities, can now use Amazon's A9.com to call up photos of many businesses.
Amazon envisions better local listings
Amazon.com's A9.com Yellow Pages lets you see a photo of the street where a particular business is located. You can use the arrows on the top left and right corners of the image to scroll along and zero in on the building you're looking for.
Credit: Amazon.com
Amazon envisions better local listings
To use the service, go to the site, enter the name of a business in the search field at the top of the page, and enter a city and state in the field just below. The engine returns the top listings for that name, with a map showing the locations of some.
Credit: Amazon.com
Amazon envisions better local listings
Select the listing you want, and A9 returns the contact information for the business and, if it's available, a photo. For faster visual browsing, the company also returns several snapshots showing different locations along the street. Users can rate which image they think is best.
Credit: Amazon.com
Amazon envisions better local listings
The site also offers a description of how it compiled the photos for its listings. So far the company has photographed businesses in 10 metropolitan areas.
Credit: Amazon.com
Amazon envisions better local listings
Other features of the A9 search engine, including the Web and reference buttons on the right side of the window, let you call up snapshots of information about particular locations.
Credit: Amazon.com
