Last Updated on September 23, 2011 by New-Startups Team
If you have ever looked for a place to live online you know the headaches and lack of UI consideration that these platforms have had in place for years. Yet we continue to use them because there aren’t many solid alternatives. Mapitat on the other-hand, created by Toronto’s Playground, is the easiest way to search for rental property.
The beautiful interface encompasses only the most essential tools to help renters accomplish their task – find a place to live according to their feature and price needs. Mapitat collects rental listings from various outlets, such as Kijiji and Craigslist, and lets users sort / display listings on a Google Map based on various filters (number of bedrooms, pet allowance, air conditioning, laundry facilities, furnishings, parking and of course price point.).
The opportunity to see various listings using Mapitat’s fun price slider, it becomes very simple to filter the map and find neighborhoods that are appropriate for given price points. With cluster circles used to notify users how many listings are in a given area (if you are zoomed out), the UI remains clean and free of too many pins that make the process of finding an apartment cluttered and overwhelming. Users can simple zoom in or click a numeric cluster to find out which apartments are in that given area along with any specific rental property’s offered features and price point. Mapitat then lets you view the listing from its posting source, which will hopefully then lead you to your new dwelling.
Currently Mapitat offers listings in Toronto and San Francisco and will introduce further cities in the future along with additional features, thus following the Google mantra: launch early and iterate often.