Apple Actively Recruiting Ex-Google Maps Employees

[Renzatic]

What kind of link address? Most map links on the internet seems to be Google maps link, created by their api. Can you provide a link at opens Apple's app?

Okay, you're half right. I went to yellowpages.com and looked up a local pizza joint, and it gave me a Google map.

You win this round. But...

I fired up the Yellowpages app, and looked for the same joint, and from there, it opened up the Apple map.

I win there.

What's really funny is that both of them were wrong.

 

[a0me]

- iPhone 4S's main selling point was Siri, an admittedly beta software release.

Not a big deal since it wasn't replacing a functioning app, and that frankly similar apps don't really work much better.

- The New iPad was thicker and heavier than its predecessor (two of Apple's most important benchmarks) because they couldn't wait a few months for IGZO displays.

Was that ever a problem? "20% thinner" "15% lighter" are nice to add to a press release or a keynote, but it has hardly any advantage for the consumer.

 

[theluggage]

Because that's how progress is made, and how markets stay competitive. By challenging the market leader.

Generally, though the idea is to challenge the market leader by producing a better product - especially when you're a big international company with a shedload of money and a reputation for attention to detail.

For the most part I like it. I'm in a major United States city for the time being.

Yes, I think the complaints are mainly coming from those of us who aren't in major US Cities and have suddenly found the maps less detailed and harder to read, our half-decent satellite/ariel views replaced by horrible fuzzy murk and the public transport feature replaced by 3rd-party plugins that don't exist, don't cover our area, have one-star reviews and/or cost serious money.

The UK mapping is absolutely pathetic compared to the old App - less detailed, harder to read, doesn't use the conventional OS colour coding for roads (the old App did) and minor roads are shown as white on a light cream background. The satellite ranges from almost, but not quite as good as Google to bloody awful.

There are plenty of example comparisons online and, from my experience these are typical - not cherry-picked examples.

Oh, plus, for the millions of people with WiFi-only iPads, gaining turn-by-turn is not a great advantage (and there were free turn-by-turn apps, anyway) - certainly not worth losing street view and public transport for.

(Did I mention I know one guy who liked the hocky-puck mouse, and another who liked Windows Vista?)

 

[jeremyka]

Am I the only one that hasn't had a problem with Maps so far? I'm guessing yes.

You know, some people are happy with old flip phones. It is all about expectations really. IOS6 maps is a subpar product. Apple needs to step up and fix it.

 

[peteypab2133]

If you cannot beat them, recruit them.

The maps app is not thaaaat bad, just the 3D.


I do like the ease of getting google going, hate hitting button after button to just get to the same place.

 

[iChrist]

My opinion

.
Hey I mean, even though I am smarter than most at Apple recently, I think everyone can agree that this is TOO little and TOO late.

I heard some old people talking about it at dinner. I mean, everyone knows it sucks, will take too much time to earn back trust.

Calculated risk, fail.

 

[kdarling]

Street view is immensely more useful in large cities than in the countryside. I use it all the time when visiting cities I haven't been to before.

Living in the Northeast US, street view is useful to my family in both situations. Roads up here were designed by horse drawn carts in the 1600s following even more ancient footpaths, and what little sense they might have made back then has been destroyed by centuries of construction projects

Like you, I use SV to preview what a city block looks like so I can better plan where to park, etc. I also use it sometimes when going to a new place in the countryside, so I know what the terrain and intersections look like. I don't need it, but it can save time.

For my wife, street view has been an utter godsend. Like many people, she cannot follow compass directions or distances, and even with a GPS she's nervous. So it's been immensely useful for me to be able to preview for her what each turn will look like on a new route, before she leaves the house.

Many people prefer knowing landmarks instead of street corners. So I am convinced that there's a huge untapped market for talking GPS's that say "Turn left at the Burger King you see just ahead" instead of "Turn left on Elm Street in 100 feet".

 

[The Phazer]

Too little, too late.

Given Apple Maps so far is presenting me with a 90%+ failure rate, the product needs to be pulled next week.

Those so in favour of competition in the marketplace... me too! So Apple should give Google's map app the ability to make it's API available to other apps, and so be the subject of links from other apps, including Apple's.

Then people would be able to make a frictionless choice about the better service. I suspect I know, outside of the completely blind fanboyism on this thread, who would win.

 

[Renzatic]

Many people prefer knowing landmarks instead of street corners. So I am convinced that there's a huge untapped market for talking GPS's that say "Turn left at the Burger King you see just ahead" instead of "Turn left on Elm Street in 100 feet".

Excuse me for a second, I'm off to the patent office.

 

[Illusion986]

I constantly need to search for certain stores as my job is on the go and i need supplies. So google maps found 7 very close to me while apple maps found 1..... makes me wonder what was the reason they rushed maps to public before it was ready? Google maps + Apple maps beta would have been better

 

[Hogni89]

Not so bad?

Not usable, what so EVER here in the Faroe Islands, Scandinavian.
Used Google Maps every day. The details were great.

Can't see ****** with this new crap!

Example: Search for Faroe Islands in the Maps app!

This is NOT Apple quality

 

[faroZ06]

Am I the only one that hasn't had a problem with Maps so far? I'm guessing yes.

No, mine is good so far except that the voice navigation won't work on the iPhone 4 (which I'm guessing is not a bug but an intentional limitation).

 

[G51989]

You know, some people are happy with old flip phones. It is all about expectations really. IOS6 maps is a subpar product. Apple needs to step up and fix it.

Hey now, at least loose change didn't take off the finish of my 90s flipphone

 

[Sora]

They will need more than ex-Google employees to help resolve their maps issues. My GF upgraded and we used the turn-by-turn nav to get a grocery store and it landed us 2 miles from our destination in a cul-de-sac. Horrible. The destinations aren't accurate.

 

[barredfreak]

Maps might just be the reason why I'll move to a Galaxy Nexus.

 

[faroZ06]

Not usable, what so EVER here in the Faroe Islands, Scandinavian.
Used Google Maps every day. The details were great.

Can't see ****** with this new crap!

Example: Search for Faroe Islands in the Maps app!

This is NOT Apple quality

Faroe Islands are blocked for some reason. Man, that sucks. Apple has to fix it soon, or I am dumping my AAPL ASAP. I don't really care about Maps or use it for navigation at all (too hard to look at an iPhone in the car and also probably illegal).

 

[G51989]

Good thing their problem is with the map data. Also good thing the data can be crowdsourced. Thousands of workers? How about millions of contributors?

Apple's map "problem" is temporary. Competitors and anti-Apple sheep are jumping all over this because they have nothing else. News outlets are playing this up against Apple just as they would if Clooney got into a fender bender. A very popular thing has a minor issue we can discuss? FIRE UP THE OVERBLOWING MACHINE!

Ahhhh! So

Complaining a product that literally doesn't work = overblowing.

 

[faroZ06]

You know, some people are happy with old flip phones. It is all about expectations really. IOS6 maps is a subpar product. Apple needs to step up and fix it.

No, he means that it works fine in his area. It's perfectly fine in my area, but it looks like it sucks outside of the US and probably in many areas inside the US.

 

[Rot'nApple]

I hope those guys come equipped with a Google car!

Maybe they should attach that camera to the helmet of that T-Mobile girl on her motorcycle! She seems to be zipping through a mess of cities!

 

[G51989]

What I don't get is that these maps were supposedly at least in part supplied by TomTom right? Then how could they be that bad from a well known map producer??? Or did TomTom just sell their grade "C" maps to Apple?
I just don't get it!

It is not Tom Tom's fault Apple cant implement their map data, or organize it, or even get it to work. Most Car GPS's are based on Tom Tom, and my actual Tom Tom ( my Marauder doesn't have built in GPS ) never has led me astray. And my DD has built in Ford GPS, never led me astray either.

This is 100% Apples Fault

 

[rearviewmirror]

Apple needs all the help they can get. The new maps are horrendous, especially if you use your iPhone for navigating off-road tracks and bike paths. Terrible maps and more Facebook integration, iOS 6 is a step in the wrong direction.

Here's my example of how poor the maps are. First map below is the iPhone using Google, Highbury Rd ends at Donbirn Way, turns into a bike path heading in the north/south direction and there is clearly a creek.

Apple Map on the iPad. Highbury Rd extends way past Donbirn Way and would effectively have driving through some fences and into the creek. Also not the lack of bike paths. The green on the Apple map is actually the edge of the creek, not the start of the bushland. I'm not sure how on earth they figured that Highbury Rd extended that far.

 

[gnasher729]

Many people prefer knowing landmarks instead of street corners. So I am convinced that there's a huge untapped market for talking GPS's that say "Turn left at the Burger King you see just ahead" instead of "Turn left on Elm Street in 100 feet".

There's an awful lot of possible improvement for navigation apps. Yes, different instructions for different people would be one. Lot's of other things. I have still 100 miles to go and need fuel within 50 miles. So find a petrol station - but not the nearest one, not the one nearest to the planned route, but the one that adds the least amount to my route. Find the best route - not the shortest, or the fastest, but the best according to the cost per mile, depending on speed and road quality, and how much I value my time in a well-blended way. Find the route with the simplest instructions (if I want to tell someone how to find me). Let me enter an address and get me to the nearest parking. And many, many other things.

 

[faroZ06]

Good thing their problem is with the map data. Also good thing the data can be crowdsourced. Thousands of workers? How about millions of contributors?

Apple's map "problem" is temporary. Competitors and anti-Apple sheep are jumping all over this because they have nothing else. News outlets are playing this up against Apple just as they would if Clooney got into a fender bender. A very popular thing has a minor issue we can discuss? FIRE UP THE OVERBLOWING MACHINE!

You call this minor? The only reason I'm not going to miss the Google Maps for now is because I never use Maps on the iPhone. But Apple Maps is seriously screwed up. Look at Faroe Islands on it.

Until Apple fixes this temporary problem, I will temporarily have no AAPL shares. I'm one of those anti-Apple sheep selling my Apple stock.

 

[G51989]

I'm actually a massive fan of the new maps , i believe this is only the start of something bigger then what google can put together. It is taking a risk however i believe if done correctly people will be craving apple maps.

Googles data is so out of date here in Australia , In brisbane (Where i live) the maps and street view are from 2009! The apple maps data is more up to date. In Brisbane are streets have changed so much (Due to new tunels and bridges) that googles maps had become to out of date that you cannot use them correctly.

If one thing apple can learn from google is not to let their data go bad.

Good for you, I live in one of the largest cities in the world ( Chicago ) and it can't find my office building in the middle of down town

 

[mrial]

Google Maps on Android have been vector based for 2-3 years already, this is nothing new...

I wasn't on the Apple Google map app ... another reason to separate from google maps.