Because there is always room for improvement. Because competition is good. Because it'd be nice to flip the tables on Google and give them some of their own medicine.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Evidence in iOS 5 that Apple is Building Its Own Mapping Solution
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Because there is always room for improvement. Because competition is good. Because it'd be nice to flip the tables on Google and give them some of their own medicine.
All I care about is getting from point A to point B. Google maps does that for me just fine, and the Maps app, while it could use some performance enhancements, works just fine.
All Apple could possibly do from here (actually from iOS 2.0 on) is screw it up by offering way more info than I want/need.
All Apple could possibly do from here (actually from iOS 2.0 on) is screw it up by offering way more info than I want/need.
Can you elaborate on that? I don't know what the competition offers and it might as well be better but my maps app always functions on my 1st gen iPhone using iOS 3. So I don't know what 'barely functioning mess' is supposed to mean.
If they will soon have built-in navigation, then this is great news!
There are really only 3 things I want that the iPhone is missing right now that Android has, and this solves one:
1) Built-in turn-by-turn navigation
2) Complete voice integration
3) LTE 4G
There are really only 3 things I want that the iPhone is missing right now that Android has, and this solves one:
1) Built-in turn-by-turn navigation
2) Complete voice integration
3) LTE 4G
Because the ideal is to make the whole widget yourself if at all possible. Your product. You're in control Self-sufiiciency. No compromises to your vision of what it should be. The goal is not necessarily to work with others (most often it's a necessity rather than voluntary), but to do a better job yourself and be less beholden to others when deciding the direction in which you want to go as a business.
The goal is to make the Apple ecosystem self-sustaining - a one-stop place for everything - all integrated, all from Apple - not necessarily locking others out entirely, but offering a homegrown solution for everything. THAT is a cohesive ecosystem designed without the compromises that come from having to partner with others because you're unable to supply, create, or distribute a certain feature or part of your ecosystem on your own.
And don't think that stifles competition or limits choice. You'll have other platforms and ecosystems to choose from. But keep in mind that some of them will be more sharply differentiated from others, for obvious reasons.
Why assume the worst?
We all thought Nokia was the hottest thing until June 2007 rolled around. Look what happened.
Apple could very well do a better job. It seems they're working with TomTom, which if true, can't be a bad thing.
If only I could HEAR the directions from the iPhone it would be awesome... It's sad when accessories are designed with a speaker so you can hear the navigation voice.
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPad; U; CPU OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)
Many people in here are forgetting that Google and Apple are direct mobile competitors now. Meaning, Google is playing nice and being smart by even offering a mapping option for the iPhone, but the one they put in their own phones is leagues better. Plus, my experience with maps has been far from positive. It sometimes just stalls in the middle of typing and very frequently it pulls up nothing when I do an address search. All this while supposedly having full bars of service.
I say go for it Apple. With the huge integration of iOS in the entire world, creating an optimized mapping solution would only encourage businesses to quickly put in their info. iOS is the first operating system businesses create apps for anyhow because of it's popularity. I think it is funny that people think businesses that want business would be too lazy or too prideful to put in their own info when they have already done it on google.
Many people in here are forgetting that Google and Apple are direct mobile competitors now. Meaning, Google is playing nice and being smart by even offering a mapping option for the iPhone, but the one they put in their own phones is leagues better. Plus, my experience with maps has been far from positive. It sometimes just stalls in the middle of typing and very frequently it pulls up nothing when I do an address search. All this while supposedly having full bars of service.
I say go for it Apple. With the huge integration of iOS in the entire world, creating an optimized mapping solution would only encourage businesses to quickly put in their info. iOS is the first operating system businesses create apps for anyhow because of it's popularity. I think it is funny that people think businesses that want business would be too lazy or too prideful to put in their own info when they have already done it on google.
I really hope Apple succeeds in their own map/gps application efforts...I just cant see it rivaling Google's. I fear their efforts will just be catching up to Google's, release upon release.
Maps on my droid offers 3d views that are very nice and google has turn by turn navigation on android phones. My wife's iphone is nicer overall, but when it comes to maps and navigation the droid is better.
To be clear, Apple developed the Maps app on iOS using Google's API. Google just licenses the data to Apple.
I agree 100%. Google is too big and too scary. Competition is not only good, but necessary here. Google Maps is always trying to tell me what they think I want to know. I'd like a less pushy mapping option and one that allows me more control. I'll bet you anything Apple will come up with what I really want and need.
If you've ever used it while driving, you'd know why it's a barely functionning mess. The competition's offering is much better just by virtue of turn-by-turn navigation being implemented right there, something Apple can do right now with Google's map data if they so wish.
I have to disagree. Nokia never build a good mobile. Never understood why so many liked that crap.
I can't use it for driving because my iPhone doesn't have a GPS to begin with.
That also doesn't mean it's a barely functioning mess. That means it's missing a lot of features.
Again the competition being better doesn't make the iPhone maps app a "barely functioning mess". They are mutually exclusive things. What I understand from an app which is "barely functioning mess" is that it crashes frequently, doesn't work correctly etc, you get the gist.
Maps is better than...
No Maps.
But it seriously sucks much of the time. I have been constantly put in the wrong places. GPS lag has meant I have missed turns. I want directionality with out the map spinning in circles or making infinity marks on the screen. I want to be able to read street names in a font big enough to read. I want to see streets and intersection names without traffic indicators getting in the way. I want to turn on and off items without going to another screen going back and having to reorientate all the time.
In other words, I want the application, in total to be reinvented by somebody that would actually using it at a speed faster than sitting down. That can get to information on the map not obscured by pin labels. I want to be able to zoom and see the entire route and see the details without the freaking pinch maneuver which never zooms in and out as much as I want. Nor as fast as I want. Can't we freaking cache SOME of the maps. Like all the ones on route?
The map application sucks, it sucks on many many levels. And I am not going to spend hundreds of dollars to discover whether or not other mapping solutions suck, and not be able to get my money back (The problem with the app store when the app costs more than .99).
It is better than no maps at all. But it is very frustrating to use as it is.
You know, because everyone in LA has an Iphone, that the directions given all use the same roads, and are all overly congested? That there isn't alternate routes given based on congestion and time to travel?
No Maps.
But it seriously sucks much of the time. I have been constantly put in the wrong places. GPS lag has meant I have missed turns. I want directionality with out the map spinning in circles or making infinity marks on the screen. I want to be able to read street names in a font big enough to read. I want to see streets and intersection names without traffic indicators getting in the way. I want to turn on and off items without going to another screen going back and having to reorientate all the time.
In other words, I want the application, in total to be reinvented by somebody that would actually using it at a speed faster than sitting down. That can get to information on the map not obscured by pin labels. I want to be able to zoom and see the entire route and see the details without the freaking pinch maneuver which never zooms in and out as much as I want. Nor as fast as I want. Can't we freaking cache SOME of the maps. Like all the ones on route?
The map application sucks, it sucks on many many levels. And I am not going to spend hundreds of dollars to discover whether or not other mapping solutions suck, and not be able to get my money back (The problem with the app store when the app costs more than .99).
It is better than no maps at all. But it is very frustrating to use as it is.
You know, because everyone in LA has an Iphone, that the directions given all use the same roads, and are all overly congested? That there isn't alternate routes given based on congestion and time to travel?
Hmmm....
One thing I haven't really seen anyone do, but would be GREAT if Apple could pull it off, is to do map lookups from MULTIPLE competing services and find the most likely correct answer to display.
When I was doing work as a courier, and occasionally when doing on-site computer service work, I'd key in a street address and not have any luck finding a match. Often, it'd be as simple a problem as the map database not listing the street the exact same way I was trying to enter it. (EG. You're trying to find an address on "Research Park Triangle", but someone's database has it keyed in as "Research Pk. Trngl. Dr.", or you want something on "First Missouri Center" but one listing has it as "1ST MO CENTER" and another has it as "FIRST MO CNTR".) Last time I tried to use a TomTom stand-alone GPS unit, I discovered it was missing ALL of the zip codes in the St. Louis, Missouri area, in fact! Searches starting with a zip instead of keying in a city or municipality were worthless!
And forget those lookups by POI! Those got me all screwed up MANY times. Once, for example, I keyed in the name of a bar and grill where I was trying to meet a friend of mine, and it took me right to the front door of the bar owner's HOUSE. The map people apparently mixed up his home and his business listing!
There would be a lot of value in a lookup hitting 4 or 5 services at once and giving you the result that matched, say, 3 out of 5 of the results that came back .... or kept trying when the first one failed to return anything, until one of the services got a "hit" on it.
One thing I haven't really seen anyone do, but would be GREAT if Apple could pull it off, is to do map lookups from MULTIPLE competing services and find the most likely correct answer to display.
When I was doing work as a courier, and occasionally when doing on-site computer service work, I'd key in a street address and not have any luck finding a match. Often, it'd be as simple a problem as the map database not listing the street the exact same way I was trying to enter it. (EG. You're trying to find an address on "Research Park Triangle", but someone's database has it keyed in as "Research Pk. Trngl. Dr.", or you want something on "First Missouri Center" but one listing has it as "1ST MO CENTER" and another has it as "FIRST MO CNTR".) Last time I tried to use a TomTom stand-alone GPS unit, I discovered it was missing ALL of the zip codes in the St. Louis, Missouri area, in fact! Searches starting with a zip instead of keying in a city or municipality were worthless!
And forget those lookups by POI! Those got me all screwed up MANY times. Once, for example, I keyed in the name of a bar and grill where I was trying to meet a friend of mine, and it took me right to the front door of the bar owner's HOUSE. The map people apparently mixed up his home and his business listing!
There would be a lot of value in a lookup hitting 4 or 5 services at once and giving you the result that matched, say, 3 out of 5 of the results that came back .... or kept trying when the first one failed to return anything, until one of the services got a "hit" on it.
When the only function I need is driving directions and all it has is a line drawn I need to constantly stare at while driving, yes it is a barely functioning mess. It's barely providing the function I need out of it. That makes a whole lot of mess of my driving experience.
Good thing I'm good with directions and can usually memorize them with a quick glance on a map before leaving. Having to constantly refer back to the iPhone while driving is a pain each time I've tried it, I don't bother anymore if I don't have a co-pilot.
NIH syndrome often leads to product delays, products that ship without much needed functionality or delays in updates that can give way to the competition.
For me it works quite fine, but every once in a while the GPS is one block off, and/or the compass is 20 degrees off. Kind of frustrating in a city where most streets are not at right angles.
And then there's the eventual "the GPS was distracted staring at something, then suddenly realizes you moved 200 meters and quickly adjusts itself"-glitch, like you caught it with its pants off or something. Is this all Apple's fault, or is there some inherent limitations on Google's side?
It could definitely be better, but it's still ages ahead of what we had (say) four years ago... here in Japan.
