DigitalGlobe has announced an update to their Maps API that allows for a more flexible budget while still delivering the highest-quality imagery available, and will now offer the service free of charge (temporary) for new apps, allowing them to experiment with geospatial features to enhance their offerings.
As app usership increases, developers can incrementally scale up their plan to allow for app commercialization, custom licensing terms and increased data security, among other features.
See the DigitalGlobe’s Maps API solution here. See also the Maps API page,