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Apple Reportedly Had Over a Year Left on Maps Contract with Google
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Easy. In Japan alone there are millions of iPhone users and Apple Maps are not useable in Japan. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/25/technology/apple-maps-errors-send-japanese-to-homegrown-app.html
Oh yes, I do understand that, just a typo, but it was google that did not provide access to the data that provides turn-by-turn features as well as other features.
I'm still wondering how it caught users here off guard since there's been talk of issues with the new maps since mid June. Just about every page of the iOS6 forum had something about it. More as time went on too.
Actually, nothing would have stopped Apple from offering a Maps preview, with the same feedback features. They would have had less users initially, but the users that would have used it would have been much more into it and happy to submit feedback.
Not to mention running both services side by side, and not moving Map Kit to this new infrastructure would have left users wide open to use Apple Maps, submit feedback and use Google Maps as a backup, also making sure 3rd party applications didn't break on incomplete data in Apple's infrastructure.
Now, with the users left with a sour taste, a lot of 3rd party broken apps, how willing will the user base be to participate in this experiment ?
Which is amazing considering the sources of data they pull from. How does Apple present the information they get from Tom Tom wrong, yet Tom Tom gets it right?
You have been bringing this up for the past couple months. I don't know if[when] it will sink in. :-\
I heard the rumor that American businesses are all about profits. Emotions shouldn't have a place there, especially not when they are bad for the business.
Never, users in these threads defending Apple's Maps don't use fitness or real-estate applications it seems. Basement dwellers that don't keep fit and don't shop for homes ?
(sorry, that one was too easy).Seems those guys also don't use Apple services like Find my iPhone which is also a Map Kit using app, same for Find My Friends.
I downloaded a Garmin app for TBT and Live Street View for street view. So I won't be using Apple's map app any time soon.
True, although generally speaking the best way to improve a map of the world is to have other people use it.
Without customer input, a mapping solution can only reach a certain level of quality. If only a handful of people are looking at an entire world map, they will not be able to find every mistake. It is when the map goes out to the masses that you are able to find more bugs and fix them.
This idea really goes with every world map, not just Apple maps.
The article says that apple could have stayed for one more year before switching.
You don't switch products at the last day of the contract. That would be foolish. You try to get off a product as soon as possible before the license terminates so that you don't get cornered and are forced to renew the license and that's why Apple chose to switch the products right away. That's smart thinking on Apples part. Never let a vendor squeeze you to the last minute forcing you on the negotiation table!
So, Google did not provide the same features as the android version and purposely let google maps on iPhone leg behind. They try to force Apple to integrate more Google services. And try to force apple to accept new conditions on the contract. And people wonder why Apple dumped Google Maps!!!
Yea!! the whole iPhone experience has been put out a product then slowly make it better it seems to fit in with what Apple does. also that year left on the maps contract is for all the people who do not upgrade iOS. in a year , when the contract is up, the 4s 5 and 5s or 6 will be the only phones on the market and like 99% will be switched over to an iOS that has apple maps. seems to make logical to me to do it this way.
Apple's maps definitely have their deficiencies, but for myself I prefer the iOS 6 solution over what we used to have. I do prefer Google maps for their detail, but I can still see Google maps via the web app (which admittedly is not a great experience). With Apple's maps app, I now have a mostly world-wide GPS navigation system on my iPhone for free. I've been using it for two months, and it is much better than the system built into my car or the Navigon app. The traffic feature has worked VERY well for me (routing around bad traffic during rush hour).
Personally, I think the biggest problem is how Apple mis-managed expectations. If they told people that it was a work in progress, people would not be so upset.
Things also get exaggerated on the web. I've seen many mistakes on Google Maps over the years (most of which are now fixed), and I have had no problems with Apple's maps in my limited experience so far.
I am a "map nerd", and for me the best part is that the competition is going to going to spur on innovation from Apple, Google, Nokia, Microsoft, etc.
Personally, I think the biggest problem is how Apple mis-managed expectations. If they told people that it was a work in progress, people would not be so upset.
Things also get exaggerated on the web. I've seen many mistakes on Google Maps over the years (most of which are now fixed), and I have had no problems with Apple's maps in my limited experience so far.
I am a "map nerd", and for me the best part is that the competition is going to going to spur on innovation from Apple, Google, Nokia, Microsoft, etc.
As the following blog points out, Apple probably didn't know how much of the data they had was plain wrong :
http://blog.telemapics.com/?p=399
If they did use automated testing, everything was probably showing up as OK in their end until WWDC when they showed the world what they had. Up to that point, they probably thought everything was going smoothly and that the product was ready for primetime. It probably only sunk in how much was wrong after the first iOS 6 preview, but by then, it was too late to pull back and delay the launch, they had made too much of a splash.
Strategic error on their part, I doubt there was any ill will involved.
It was apple fault that the map app sucked. It was Apple's job to update it.
With once a year updates to the map app that they did not do much with while android was improving there all the time.
Sum it up. Blame apple not google for the lagging of the map app.
But shoving it down people's throat is not a good way to make people happilly use it and report back any mistake. Quite the contrary.
A side-by-side optional preview would probably have netted them much more contributors than this. Heck, I might have just participated in such an optional preview of their future product, and provided feedback.
As it stands, I'll probably just revert to using Google Maps in Safari and delete any Map Kit apps I have.
I think it comes down to needing to get started on making their own mapping software. Google has had iphone users help promote their product. It's like have windows maps on an apple phone it's just not a long term solution.
I reckon apple bought all the data they could and data is super expensive.
It's only now they have an app and mapping ecosystem that they can improve it and manage all that data through their users! I think they were ready to launch and wanted to get the ball rolling on their embryo rather than carry on with google that didn't need any refining.
If It were up to me I would have done the same. I almost think they should have done this much earlier as they could have crowd sourced so much info from apple users over the past 3-4 years their own maps could have even surpassed google in some areas.
Everyone relying on google is a really bad thing in the long run, they make money because there are no other options. It's bad for users now but I can see it being a massive advantage two years down the line.
I reckon apple bought all the data they could and data is super expensive.
It's only now they have an app and mapping ecosystem that they can improve it and manage all that data through their users! I think they were ready to launch and wanted to get the ball rolling on their embryo rather than carry on with google that didn't need any refining.
If It were up to me I would have done the same. I almost think they should have done this much earlier as they could have crowd sourced so much info from apple users over the past 3-4 years their own maps could have even surpassed google in some areas.
Everyone relying on google is a really bad thing in the long run, they make money because there are no other options. It's bad for users now but I can see it being a massive advantage two years down the line.
When you don't live in San Francisco, Cupertino or any other more crowded place in the United States, then Apple Maps is a disaster - especially for millions of users OUTSIDE the US of A where that new piece of software does not seem to be usable at all.
Apparently, Scott Forstall's team has only field tested Apple Maps on One Infinite Loop, Cupertino.
I rather prefer apple maps. Not sure what the complaints are. At least in the us things seem solid with an address wrong here or there.
I've yet to encounter an error
I've yet to encounter an error