Ask HN: maps and geocoding solution?

I guess you meant to say 'rules out the free version of Google Maps', which is a pity because I think it is th obvious choice. Not unreasonably, though, Google expect to recoup the cost of putting it together. Geocoding is one of those frontiers yet to be cracked by the OpenSource community, but if such a thing existed I doubt they would be happy with its inclusion in a commercial product. Are you happy with specific countries, or are you hoping for a global solution? It's a tough nut to crack, because individual countries often use local datums or grid reference systems, and users in those countries expect to be able to use them, too. In addition, how accurate do you need them to be? Are we talking street addresses [lookup and reverse lookup], parcel location, grid references or what? The precision you need will determine what is an acceptable solution, or at least one 'fit for purpose'. For Europe, at least have a look at what the INSPIRE data portal offers. I have no knowledge of any available Russian data, although past history would tell me that it is probably held in a locked vault. Matt Hutchinson's IntelliGeoLocator project[written up here--http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/difficult-addr...] might also be a starting point for you, and the IP is apparently held by the Australian Co-operative Research Centre for Spatial Information [CRCSI], who can be contacted through www.crcsi.com.au. Ultimately, though, you will probably have to source the raw data you need and improve the accuracy as you go.