Patent ID: 8868338

Claim:
A method of displaying map information comprising: receiving, by one or more processors, a map of a location; displaying, by the one or more processors, the map from a substantially top-down point of view; receiving, by the one or more processors, a street level image based on the location, wherein the street level image displays a perspective-view image captured by a camera; displaying, by the one or more processors, a transition between the map and the street level image, the transition comprising displaying an iterative tilting of the displayed map image from the substantially top-down point of view to a street level point of view, and displaying the tilted map image and street level image blended together by increasing the opacity of the street level image and decreasing the opacity of the tilted map image over time, the street level image being displayed at a selected orientation that relates to the orientation of the map and is determined by the one or more processors; and after displaying the transition, displaying the street level image.