I've never had google maps or nav force close or crash any Android device I ever owned. If it happened to someone you know it's an isolated issue. I never see it on the forums, you would have a huge thread about it on Android forums like the thread of the App Store crashing iPhones on here.
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Apple Maps don't suck! (merged)
- Thread starter mcdonoughdr
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I've never had google maps or nav force close or crash any Android device I ever owned. If it happened to someone you know it's an isolated issue. I never see it on the forums, you would have a huge thread about it on Android forums like the thread of the App Store crashing iPhones on here.
I haven't seen this posted here yet, but there is at least one way in which Apple directions are way better than the alternatives. They won't let you kill pedestrians:
http://appleinsider.com/articles/12/09/25/inside_ios_6_whats_wrong_with_apples_new_maps/page/5
http://appleinsider.com/articles/12/09/25/inside_ios_6_whats_wrong_with_apples_new_maps/page/5
It's not just that they don't suck. The new integrated map application in iOS 6, IMHO, offers a better experience, *today*, than the prior Google-supported offering and any alternative I've ever tried, free or paid. This includes MotionX-GPS Drive, Navigon and Waze (which is particularly good). Never got around to trying TomTom.
The Siri integration is cool. "Navigate home." "Take me to Bernie's BBQ."
The voice guidance is outstanding. She doesn't whine "recalculating" if I miss a turn; she interrupts herself mid-sentence when she realizes I'm not driving according to her plan, and resumes guidance almost immediately.
The turn-by turn presentation is outstanding. Clear, legible. Just the right amount of information for a distractible driver. And the movement of the map--whether navigating or not--is smooth as glass.
The ability to switch between the local view and the route overview is fantastic.
The ability to wheedle at Siri "are we there yet?" and get a useful response is priceless.
The integration with the rest of the OS is amazing. When the device is asleep, it wakes up in time to display an upcoming turn. When I've made the turn, it goes to sleep again. When I'm using another app, a banner at the top of the screen reminds me what do to next.
I know, I know: the Washington Monument is off by a mile and the Tacoma Narrows Bridge looks like a disaster area. And so on. It's just that where I live and travel I'm not personally affected by errors in the dataset. These errors can and will be corrected before you know it.
All this excitement: whatever. I'm pleased as punch.
The Siri integration is cool. "Navigate home." "Take me to Bernie's BBQ."
The voice guidance is outstanding. She doesn't whine "recalculating" if I miss a turn; she interrupts herself mid-sentence when she realizes I'm not driving according to her plan, and resumes guidance almost immediately.
The turn-by turn presentation is outstanding. Clear, legible. Just the right amount of information for a distractible driver. And the movement of the map--whether navigating or not--is smooth as glass.
The ability to switch between the local view and the route overview is fantastic.
The ability to wheedle at Siri "are we there yet?" and get a useful response is priceless.
The integration with the rest of the OS is amazing. When the device is asleep, it wakes up in time to display an upcoming turn. When I've made the turn, it goes to sleep again. When I'm using another app, a banner at the top of the screen reminds me what do to next.
I know, I know: the Washington Monument is off by a mile and the Tacoma Narrows Bridge looks like a disaster area. And so on. It's just that where I live and travel I'm not personally affected by errors in the dataset. These errors can and will be corrected before you know it.
All this excitement: whatever. I'm pleased as punch.
I'm sure we can find few circumstances where Apple's maps are better. Overall though they are bad, I used them in Baltimore and on several occasions it tried to take me the wrong way down one way streets (S Stockton St, Baltimore below Baltimore St is the wrong way on Apples maps). I'm more likely to turn down a wrong way street then run down a cyclist...
I just gone my ip5 today and in toronto. I was skeptical but was surprised that the traffic jams on maps showed where the bad areas were to the T. Was impressed. I read that some ppl dont have that on their maps. So far it was good. I didnt try turn by turn. I did notice that I downloaded 200mb in the first 30 mins of getting it with few apps lol. Gosh LTE.
Dont think it was the maps being data hungry.
so far its good.
Dont think it was the maps being data hungry.
so far its good.
The CEO of Apple just stated that Maps suck.
In no way did he say this.
This is the exact reason they should've just kept their mouths shut.
Now the idiot masses will see this as failure. Apple maps is far from failure.
How is Apple maps not a failure? Don't tell me that Turn-by-Turn works correctly in your city. Not everybody in the world drives, and as long as there are this many people complaining, it is a failure. I'm not concerned about mapping in my area, I'm concerned about mapping in places I might be travelling to in the future.
Also, don't you find it weird that right after making that "The more people that use Apple Maps, the better it will get" comment, they decide to provide us with a list of alternatives.
If they were truly confident that they could improve their Map before people start migrating over to Android (not even Fanboys have infinite patience) shouldn't they be encouraging the use of Apple Maps?
I take this as a desperate move by Apple to retain it's customers after finding out it would take years for Maps to become useful to the even a majority of its users.
i've had 2 android phones that lose GPS signal unless you have a mount on the windshield for your phone to have a clear line of sight. nice that every iphone i've had works just fine lying on the seat
Just looked at York... there are no words. It's arguably one of the major cities in the UK (it has a large university, and is a massive touris destination), and its either in BLACK AND WHITE or is literally just a fuzzy mess.
Apple, oh dear.
If maps doesn't improve by the time I'm due an upgrade (most likely the iPhone 6), I'm getting an Android phone. And this is coming from someone who owns a mac (for three years), and and iPad, and a range of apple peripherals (my friends call me a "fan boy"). This is seriously unacceptable... I payed £700 for my phone and expect to be able to do basic things like decent mapping...
I'm happy with Apple maps. There are some issues but for the most part it works well and the Siri integration is nice. What bugs me the most is that map links in most web sites call up the google map web site so now I'm dealing with 2 map applications on a regular basis where it used to be one.
Is there any way to redirect google map requests to the Apple maps app? There are lots of examples of web links redirecting to apps - is this something that needs to be built into the website? The app? would it be possible to create a third party app that did this redirect for me?
Is there any way to redirect google map requests to the Apple maps app? There are lots of examples of web links redirecting to apps - is this something that needs to be built into the website? The app? would it be possible to create a third party app that did this redirect for me?
Apple also did this:
http://9to5mac.com/2012/09/29/apple-no-longer-calls-ios6-maps-the-most-beautiful-powerful-mapping-service-ever/
Looks like the evidence is mounting that Apple Maps DO suck.
I posted this in the "Apple Maps are a disaster" thread, but I think it's worth posting here too, because in my experience Apple's Maps DO suck:
Having tried out Apple Maps some more... it really is awful
Oh sure, streets and roads are fine, and it has turn-by-turn, etc. etc., but... So many points of interest (POIs) are completely wrong. Some are in the wrong place, some ceased to exist years ago, and some are not listed at all and so do not even show up in a search No use having turn-by-turn or a search function if it doesn't find the location you want, or it does find it but takes you to the wrong place.
I've tried it out for a few locations here in Cambridge, UK. I've used it to check out areas I'm particularly familiar with, pubs, my walk to work, and so on.
Just on my walk to work there are several errors: Pubs are on the wrong side of the road, McDonald's is on the wrong side of a roundabout, a B&B is on the wrong block completely, an Indian restaurant that closed down five years ago is still shown, a branch of MFI that ceased to exist when MFI went into administration in 2008 is still shown...
I was out on Thursday night at a popular local pub that has been around for years in the same location: Google Maps has it in the correct location, while Apple Maps has it at the other end of the road and round a corner, while a different pub is shown in its place instead of on the opposite side of the road as it is in reality.
Mrs D and I went to London yesterday for my birthday. She took me to see the stage version of War Horse (which is excellent btw).
War Horse was at the New London Theatre in Drury Lane, not far from Covent Garden. The theatre opened in 1973, and according to Wikipedia is well known for Cats, which premiered there in 1981 and ran for 21 years. It's not some random little back-alley theatre that no one has heard of.
While in Covent Garden, I tested both Apple Maps and (via the web app) Google Maps.
I searched for "New London Theatre", and Apple Maps gave me a theatre in New London, Connecticut, USA.
I tried again, with "The New London Theatre". Apple Maps found nothing. I tried again with "New London Theatre London", and it gave me a location in New London, New Hampshire, USA. I tried "New London Theatre Drury Lane", and it gave me Drury Ln, New London, New Hampshire, USA. I tried "New London Theatre England", "New London Theatre UK"... all returned no results.
Mrs D suggested I try some other well-known theatres in the West End's "Theatreland".
"Savoy Theatre" gave me a theatre in Savoy, Illinois, USA.
"Queen's Theatre" gave me Shaftesbury Avenue, Harrow instead of Shaftesbury Avenue, London.
"Novello Theatre" gave me no results.
"Lyceum Theatre" gave me no results.
And what did Google Maps find? It found every location first time, without problem, and without even needing to refine the search by adding "London" or "England" to the end (not that that helped with Apple Maps!).
Another test: Public transport.
The old Map app, which Mrs D still has on her iPhone 4S as she refuses to update to iOS6, would also handle directions via public transport as well as car or foot. She uses it regularly when she goes to London to see musicals (hence refusing to update to iOS6). Stick in a start point and an end point and it will tell you how to get there by public transport, with detailed information regarding e.g. where to walk to get the bus, which number and destination bus to get, what time the bus is and how long it will take... [This also still works via the Google Maps web app]
Apple Maps on iOS6? Ask it for a public transport route, and... it takes you to the App Store, to the section for transport apps. Useless
Having tried out Apple Maps some more... it really is awful
Oh sure, streets and roads are fine, and it has turn-by-turn, etc. etc., but... So many points of interest (POIs) are completely wrong. Some are in the wrong place, some ceased to exist years ago, and some are not listed at all and so do not even show up in a search
No use having turn-by-turn or a search function if it doesn't find the location you want, or it does find it but takes you to the wrong place.I've tried it out for a few locations here in Cambridge, UK. I've used it to check out areas I'm particularly familiar with, pubs, my walk to work, and so on.
Just on my walk to work there are several errors: Pubs are on the wrong side of the road, McDonald's is on the wrong side of a roundabout, a B&B is on the wrong block completely, an Indian restaurant that closed down five years ago is still shown, a branch of MFI that ceased to exist when MFI went into administration in 2008 is still shown...
I was out on Thursday night at a popular local pub that has been around for years in the same location: Google Maps has it in the correct location, while Apple Maps has it at the other end of the road and round a corner, while a different pub is shown in its place instead of on the opposite side of the road as it is in reality.
Mrs D and I went to London yesterday for my birthday. She took me to see the stage version of War Horse (which is excellent btw).
War Horse was at the New London Theatre in Drury Lane, not far from Covent Garden. The theatre opened in 1973, and according to Wikipedia is well known for Cats, which premiered there in 1981 and ran for 21 years. It's not some random little back-alley theatre that no one has heard of.
While in Covent Garden, I tested both Apple Maps and (via the web app) Google Maps.
I searched for "New London Theatre", and Apple Maps gave me a theatre in New London, Connecticut, USA.
I tried again, with "The New London Theatre". Apple Maps found nothing. I tried again with "New London Theatre London", and it gave me a location in New London, New Hampshire, USA. I tried "New London Theatre Drury Lane", and it gave me Drury Ln, New London, New Hampshire, USA. I tried "New London Theatre England", "New London Theatre UK"... all returned no results.
Mrs D suggested I try some other well-known theatres in the West End's "Theatreland".
"Savoy Theatre" gave me a theatre in Savoy, Illinois, USA.
"Queen's Theatre" gave me Shaftesbury Avenue, Harrow instead of Shaftesbury Avenue, London.
"Novello Theatre" gave me no results.
"Lyceum Theatre" gave me no results.
And what did Google Maps find? It found every location first time, without problem, and without even needing to refine the search by adding "London" or "England" to the end (not that that helped with Apple Maps!).
Another test: Public transport.
The old Map app, which Mrs D still has on her iPhone 4S as she refuses to update to iOS6, would also handle directions via public transport as well as car or foot. She uses it regularly when she goes to London to see musicals (hence refusing to update to iOS6). Stick in a start point and an end point and it will tell you how to get there by public transport, with detailed information regarding e.g. where to walk to get the bus, which number and destination bus to get, what time the bus is and how long it will take... [This also still works via the Google Maps web app]
Apple Maps on iOS6? Ask it for a public transport route, and... it takes you to the App Store, to the section for transport apps. Useless
No, no, no. You can't believe that. Apple hasn't come out and said out right using those words that their maps suck. Unless they do, they're just fine. Look at all the people in this thread who say it isn't so.
Go and check out North Korea, Pyonyang in Apple Maps. More accuarte and detailed than York...
Posted this in another thread already:
Apple Maps guiding me 25km to work: 252KB download
Only opening Google Maps (no satellite): 3MB download
Doesn't sound like a huge difference, but on my iPad I have nu unlimited data, or at least it goes down to a crawl after 500MB.
It is even worse in foreign countries, where I usually get very limited data and need to pay extra fees (like 2€/day for 25MB).
Apple Maps guiding me 25km to work: 252KB download
Only opening Google Maps (no satellite): 3MB download
Doesn't sound like a huge difference, but on my iPad I have nu unlimited data, or at least it goes down to a crawl after 500MB.
It is even worse in foreign countries, where I usually get very limited data and need to pay extra fees (like 2€/day for 25MB).
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This is just one example of how wrong Apple Maps can be. Rutt's Hutt us a very famous hot dog joint that's been in the same spot since 1928. In fact it's a landmark in New Jersey. Damn near everyone in North Jersey knows of the place, even if they don't know exactly where it is. The pin is about a mile (maybe a bit less) from where it should be and it's in the wrong town.
Looks like the wrong address on Yelp is to blame...opened it and issued corrections for both address and pin location.
I saw the two apologists extraordinaire giving this some headway yesterday - I would like to see a comparison based on the vector based stuff in Google Maps instead, right now it's Apples and Oranges. If there's a comparison to recent Android based navigation and Apple Maps, then I'll bite. And about that - You can select an area of the recent Google Maps and have it saved offline. Apple Maps also saves stuff offline, mainly where you've been lately, but it's not something you can control.
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iPhone 5 - it's huge in Best Korea.
You should read the links. They are not comparing Apple Maps vs. Android Maps (in vector). They are comparing Apple Maps vs. Google's old iOS 5 Maps. The new maps, by being vector based, save a huge amount of bandwidth. I'm sure google found the same improvement when it switched to vector back in 2010. But it is a powerful argument for Apple having to do its own maps (if you accept that google wouldn't license this data to Apple on mutually agreed terms).
On your comment about caching: The Guardian:
Vector maps are small. The entire UK is reportedly only about 200mb. Caching just isn't an issue.