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Google Maps for iOS in Alpha Testing, Partial Screenshots and Details
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Apple maps is an abomination in its current state. I agree with that. But if this move can push Google to write an app for the iPhone which has vector maps and turn by turn navigation, then it's worth it. And Apple maps is actually good for turn by turn navigation.
Well, Apple maps is not any better than Google maps on Android as far as turn by turn navigation, in fact, some respects, Apple maps is worse.
Its my personal feeling that apple 100% under estimated the task ahead of them when they decided to do their own maps.
I bet, they asked google to provide turn by turn for free, Google told Apple to stuff it, and now we have Google iOS Maps in Alpha, and to be honest, I couldf see Apple blocking this app going onto the marketplace, which is a huge blow to the customer.
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No they aren't, they are laughing their asses off at Apples half assed Map Attempt.
No they have not, Android has a MUCH higher userbase than iOS.
Are you ok crack? Nearly every major publicaan has said that iMaps is complete crap. And I made the mistake of updating my work phone, and it is crap.
THE DAILY BAR IS NOT IN A LAKE.
Apple make the mistake of thinking they could buy/map the world in 1 year, they were mistaken.
Apple maps will never be as good as Google maps, they would have to spend money for that, and it would impact their profit margin. Apple is 100% about profit margin, they will refuse to spend money to improve maps. They'll go off users and employee data.
Somtimes, I don't understand how people defend APple when they screw up this bad.
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Try Google maps on Andoid, it blows Apple maps out of the water.
Google never updated their maps or App on iOS because apple didn't want to pay for it.l
Apple wants more features for nothing, google told them to go **** themselves, and I don't blame them.
What about the discussion on whether Apple would let through Google Maps on the App Store? The vector graphics is the only good thing with Apple's Maps app. Other than, Google will nail almost every other new feature that Apple "brought" to the table.
If you didn't get the memo, lots of people who live in the US and wanted turn-by-turn seem to be delighted c.f. what was previously available for free.
The disgruntled are those of us who didn't care much about turn-by-turn (I have an iPad with no GPS) but have lost Street View and public transport directions, find the maps of our area less detailed than Google, and have lousy 'satellite' imagery for our area (Try looking at Nottingham, UK, somewhere under all those clouds, or the bargain-bucket resolution covering a huge strip to the south of Lancaster, UK). I recently needed to get to "holiday inn express luton airport" - now, Google isn't spot on - but it's within 100 yards, and has street view and decent arial images so I know where to get off the bus. Apple Maps takes me to San Fransisco... (and "luton airport UK" takes me to UK Minicabs Ltd). When you finally get it on the right continent the satellite imagery is a fuzzy mess and completely unhelpful.
These aren't carefully selected locations - they are places that I tried because I had had cause to look them up in the past. Essentially, maybe it is fine and dandy in the US but elsewhere it is like Google Maps several years ago.
I was wondering if they were going to add turn by turn navigation just to piss Apple off.
GL
I bet they will
And really. Just to piss them off and because Google just make good software I wonder. Find my iPhone is now useless because of apple maps. In Denmark streets are missing and we have no path's or pavements or sideroads. Apple erased them.
Maybe we get them back with google?
And why do they use Google Maps for Find My iPhone on the Mac but not on the Phone ?
Miss Google Maps badly.
The few times I've used it it's worked fine for me.
You just summed up Apple's beta testing process for Maps.
Indeed. Twice by me in this thread alone. There's probably a good reason why people don't go near this question/issue. They can't. Because there's no true work around when something is integrated into the OS. So there can be a million great apps in the marketplace - but if Map Kit doesn't allow them to be accessed then it's just messy and won't ever be the "it just works" UNTIL Apple Maps is at the level it should be. I'm not saying Apple Maps is BAD or is the worst thing on the planet. I'm saying that there are enough with POI, etc that make it less than polished or reliable.
As an aside - and I'll state again that I have mostly Apple tech (iPad, 2 iMacs, MacBook Pro, 2 Apple TVs, iPhone 4, etc) but I also have a Samsung Skyrocket. From everything I've read (which honestly isn't that much) - this sort of thing would never happen on Android because you can change default Apps.
And I could be wrong - but when people say how open/how much choice (i.e. customization) Android gives - it might not be just about hardware - but also the fact that you can change how the phone works based on a integration level based on what apps you employ. Of course this comes with some issues on its own. But in the case of maps, for example - what aome people are frustrated with wouldn't happen on the Android platform.
Someone can correct me if I'm wrong. Like I said - I'm definitely no Android expert in the slightest.
You may not see ads per say right in maps, but your location is being logged and used to feed you location relevant ads elsewhere. This is Google's revenue model. They want to learn as much as they can about everyone that they can so they can offer strong targeted advertising and charge higher advertising rates to their REAL customers. YOU are not Google's customers. The advertiser's are. You are food for their real customers.
I bet you that when this App comes out people will b*tch about all the product placement and ads...
No, it isn't worth it.
Not unless Google Maps app is given the ability to get link referals from Safari, be changed to the default mapping app in the OS such as the contacts and mail apps and be the provider of the mapkit API for other third party apps.
Honestly, out of all the problems with iOS 6, the maps arent so bad. They are super easy with siri vs my 2012 car nav which is total crap. Tell siri where I'm going and she will give me directions via maps and blutooth audio in the car speakers. Never realize how usefully iOS 6 maps were until I needed directions!
How do you think iAds work?
If you think you are any less of a product to Apple than Google, you're fooling yourself.
Personally I like Apple Maps just fine. They have a ways to go on search, but I deleted my $50 TomTom app because of how good the turn-by-turn directions were. I don't trust it for location search/discovery quite as much, but it's nowhere near the flop people - including Tim Cook - think it is. In fact, I wish he hadn't apologized for it so that developers wouldn't feel the need to push me to the worthless Google Maps online applet. I doubt I'll use the Google Maps app when it comes out - for anything other than the occasional search that is.
You made his point exactly. It's not terrible. It's more than adequate for 98% of the applications that I, and likely most other people use it for. It will get better, and it already does some things better than Google maps ever did before.
Can you give specific, personal examples of the issues you've had, like FieldingMellish did in post #24? If not, your subjective statement that "it's terrible" is just hyperbolic trolling.
What many people fail to see is that Google Maps is produced by ...Google. You know, that little company whose business model is to sell ads.
Not only Google knows what I search on the web, can read my GMail e-mails, which websites I visit, what I buy online and other things such as "we absolutely need your phone number just in case you forget your e-mails password". This "don't be evil" company is feeding you the message that they don't do it for their personal gain but to make your "web experience and your life in general" easier while proceeding to analyse your life as if you were a commodity.
Not only Google knows what I search on the web, can read my GMail e-mails, which websites I visit, what I buy online and other things such as "we absolutely need your phone number just in case you forget your e-mails password". This "don't be evil" company is feeding you the message that they don't do it for their personal gain but to make your "web experience and your life in general" easier while proceeding to analyse your life as if you were a commodity.
Yet, the troubles with Apple maps feature has little to no effect on the sales of its iOS devices.
Google makes as much as 4 times on iOS then they do on Android. If anything the loss of Google Maps has a far greater effect on Google.
Does not matter what the media says when the majority general public does not care. 9 out of 10 customers are not effected by the problems with Apple maps. Once Apple maps gets more mature, accuracy will greatly improve and in the end Google will lose out.
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They probably thought finding your iPhone was important enough to not send you to the Ottoman Empire.