SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sept. 29, 2005 -- Major Internet companies such as Microsoft, Google, Yahoo!, Amazon and others are embracing new techniques to create powerful single-screen Web applications (e.g., Flickr, Google Maps and Start.com). Using DHTML and Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML), these sites provide much greater interactivity and performance than the traditional page-oriented presentations that have been available on the Web since 1993.

Now, RelocationCentral by CORT brings these advances to apartment hunters with the release of http://www.RelocationCentral.com.

Unlike competitors' sites (such as Rent.com and Apartments.com), the single-screen search interface allows the user to look for apartments (based on specific criteria and/or geographic location) without having to navigate through a series of pages. All search results are displayed immediately as the user refines their search parameters. Matching apartment communities appear as icons on a map of the desired metropolitan area. Users can see full apartment details, save favorite listings and zoom in on street-level maps without leaving the search screen.

In a recent article (http://www.uie.com/articles/ajax/), Joshua Porter, Director of Web Development for User Interface Engineering and an expert on Web site usability, stated that "One of the biggest reasons to use the screen- based approach is the simplicity of a single-screen interface. ... users can see the big picture of the application, seeing all of the steps necessary to complete the application. ... Single-screen interfaces also allow users to modify and change information in the order that they choose."

Dave Elliott, RelocationCentral's Senior User Experience Architect, adds, "With this approach, renters are provided with great control and the ability to focus on selecting their new apartment rather than learning how to go back and forth through a set of individual pages. In addition, our map-based display lets the user clearly see where the apartments are located in relation to highways, parks and other points of interest."

By breaking free of the traditional page-based interface, RelocationCentral hopes to significantly improve users' ability to find the best apartment available and to make it an enjoyable experience. RelocationCentral offers $200 in rewards to users who rent from its listings.

RelocationCentral by CORT is a division of CORT Business Services, a Berkshire Hathaway company and America's largest supplier of rental furniture for residential and commercial clients.