Q:

Launching a map app from a mobile website

I'm looking to allow a user to click on a postcode and launch their native map app.
All the solutions I have seen are vendor specific. Is there a "maps" protocol that when invoked will launch the native app?
Something like "maps://"?

A:

There is no standard convention, each mobile OS implements this differently. You will have to detect the device and update your links accordingly.
E.g. Let's say we wanted to find the postcode W1J 7NT

iOS:
URI: http://maps.apple.com/?q=W1J7NT
see: Apple URL Scheme Reference - Map links
Android:
URI: geo:0,0?q=W1J7NT
see: Intents List: Invoking Google Applications on Android Devices
Windows phone:
URI: maps:W1J7NT
see: Opening native map apps from the mobile browser
Blackberry:
URI: javascript:blackberry.launch.newMap({'address':{'zipPostal':'W1J7NT'}});
see: Opening native map apps from the mobile browser

You will also have to take into account the OS version as these URIs may have changed in earlier versions of each OS.

