One of the perks of UMapper premium is the ability to have a your logo on a custom map template. In addition to modifying colors and adding a logo, the template’s functionality can be tweaked to fit your specific needs while maintaining standard UMapper features.

Ever since the release of custom map templates we have deployed a bunch of good-looking templates, some of which are shown below:

YOU FM

USA Today

Twavl.com

You too can have a custom template. Just upgrade to UMapper premium, and send us your design guide.

Ever since the release of the Custom Maps feature we have seen a large number of great use cases, and the map of Jackson is most certainly one of them. What makes this map stand out is the combination of a great underlying map with interactive points. Great job area332, we look forward to more great maps.

To get you into the holiday spirit we would like to feature Holiday Lights Guide by MailTribune, decorated with nicely-designed custom icons. Explore the map below or see what it looks like on MailTribune.com.

Chris Pendleton over at Bing Maps evangelist blog wrote a nice overview of our UMap ActionScript Mapping API in context of our partnership with Bing Maps. The entire article can be found here, here is an excerpt:

The Bing Maps Platform team has partnered with AFComponents (AFC) to provide a Flash-based interface for building robust map applications. AFC has created a very robust SDK for creating your Flash-based Bing Maps applications. Supported through AFC, their Flash controls access Bing Maps in a supported fashion and fall inline with the Bing Maps TOUs. If you’re a commercial customer, you still require a commercial license; however, now you no longer have to wrap your own Flash control by accessing our tiles via the Bing Maps Web Service or reverse engineer our tiles schema and URI definitions directly to create your Flash control (a TOU violation!). AFC has you covered – you just need to access their SDK for overlaying data. And, yes, their service get’s Bird’s Eye images so if you love Bird’s Eye and need them in Flash you can get them! And to be clear, if you’re using Flash I really feel your pain with Silverlight just sitting there all ripe and shiny; but, hey, I’m just trying to make your life a little easier until you can convince those directive-pushers that Silverlight is the better option. All in due time.

Also, within the AFC APIs you can access Bing Maps geocoding, routing, POI Search, road maps, aerial maps, hybrid maps, traffic layers and Bird’s Eye photos. You pretty much get everything that’s in the Bing Maps Platform only it’s all made just for Flash developers…

Learn more about UMap features, pricing and licensing options here.

This week we would like to feature the 2009 Black Friday Incidents map by MarieWarren. The map was created to illustrate an interesting article on the Media Converged blog. Here it is:

Black Friday is known as one of the biggest shopping days of the year. It’s a day when many stores offer their biggest deals and discounts, and consumers turned out in numbers to take advantage of these opportunities.

While this event is profitable, this day also creates a breeding ground for crimes, ranging from assault to murder. According to reports, Black Friday incidents are down this year compared to last year’s tragedies. The following are locations of incidents associated with 2009 Black Friday .