Wow. Apple Maps is a disaster.

[Mliii]

lol, after seeing that, I decided to poke around (I'm just a curious Yank in the states). I chose York, which amazingly shows how schizophrenic Apple maps can be (click on the thumbnail for the full-size image):

You don't have to stray that far from home:

 

[MozMan68]

The Hoover Dam example is overplayed and unfair.

The image shows up that way because they are showing a 2D image conformed to 3D terrain....it is not a flyover area.

 

[SlCKB0Y]

again, I'm still searching for all the pre-iOS6 threads that discussed the old Maps being the main reason people loved their iPhones.

I don't hear all my friends ranting about how wonderful oxygen is but you can be damned sure i'll hear about it if at some point there isn't enough to go around.

Do you see the analogy? 🙄

Want a more relevant one? Find me some posts on here talking about how great it is that people can send SMS from their phones.

Many of us use maps every day, sometimes multiple times a day on our phones and highly accessible, functional and accurate maps are just something people now take for granted in everyday life.

----------

It's been debunked - it's more likely Google is waiting a bit before submitting the app. Let Apple get some bad press and hope some of the most pissed-off users jump ship...

Did you ever consider that IF Google is making an app (and this hasn't even been confirmed yet), that they aren't releasing it because it simply isn't finished yet?

 

[Mliii]

The Hoover Dam example is overplayed and unfair.

The image shows up that way because they are showing a 2D image conformed to 3D terrain....it is not a flyover area.

In my opinion, Flyover is strictly a stunt... Sure, it's pretty, but you're going to use it when exactly?

 

[dv8r]

Did you ever consider that IF Google is making an app (and this hasn't even been confirmed yet), that they aren't releasing it because it simply isn't finished yet?:

Sure. But this was my guess and everything else around this is also just guesswork, so I found this scenario most likely. There's no way I believe Google was taken by surprise by this, since this has been in the works at least since WWDC. And they did add StreetView to the Web-app rather fast.

 

[MozMan68]

Where is all the uproar over the cars driving off a cliff on Google Maps version of Hoover Dam?

 

[SlCKB0Y]

depends

NYC there was a big building demolished in the last year or two and apple maps has it being as an empty lot.

I'm actually surprised you can't still see the twin towers in NYC in Apple Maps 😀

 

[SlCKB0Y]

Everyone does have the right to be upset. However, people should be understanding that Apple has just started doing maps while Google has been at for ten years. That does make a difference.

But...but this is exactly the reason why what they did was a very bad idea. They replaced a service with almost a decade of work behind it with something they tried to hack together from scratch.

Your reason for excusing them is the reason why this is such a mess.

Besides, yes, the Google Maps service most certainly had issues when it was released in 2005 but it was nowhere near being this bad when first released and that was back when people had a much lower expectation of a free mapping service.

Further to this Google is very up front about a product or service being in beta and what you as the end user should expect from it. Apple most definitely are not.

----------

Sorry, but using streetview to read parking regulations is not a serious use. It is a lucky bonus and 1 in a million use. It can't be its raison d'etre.

Street view has totally changed the real estate industry, both in how places are marketed and also how people find properties. It's immensely useful being about to look around a neighbourhood prior to wasting your time physically visiting it.

As someone who travels frequently it's made my life much easier when trying to find some out of the way place or checking out major points of interest before I leave home.

There are literally hundreds if not thousands of legitimate uses for Streetview other than finding parking (which I agree IS very useful). Besides, who are you to decide the value inherent in someone else's use of the service?

Your obvious bias and serious lack of imagination is a reflection on you, not Streetview.

 

[Kung]

Where is all the uproar over the cars driving off a cliff on Google Maps version of Hoover Dam?

Stop confusing the issue with facts and logic. *tsk tsk*

----------

Besides, yes, the Google Maps service most certainly had issues when it was released in 2005 but it was nowhere near being this bad when first released and that was back when people had a much lower expectation of a free mapping service.

...mainly because NO ONE used their smartphone as a GPS back then that I'm aware of.

And I would actually beg to differ with you as far as Google Maps went back then. From 2005 till about 2008 or so, I occasionally tried checking out Google Maps...and ended up going back to MapQuest (which itself has never been that great) because Google Maps routinely got me lost.

Since the 5 has come out, I've used it in the course of my job - in the middle of nowhere in Missouri. Not once has it gotten me lost. YMMV. *shrug*

 

[MozMan68]

There are literally hundreds if not thousands of legitimate uses for Streetview other than finding parking (which I agree IS very useful). Besides, who are you to decide the value inherent in someone else's use of the service?

Your obvious bias and serious lack of imagination is a reflection on you, not Streetview.

I can't think of even ten legitimate, separate reasons...give me a break.

 

[MSUSpartan]

No more use complaining or fighting about this now guys. Even Apple admit their maps is inferior. There will also nothing that can be done to bring Google Maps as the default iOS maps app.

I think we just have to live w/ the fact that a major function of iOS is now crippled (compared to the predecessor). I look forward to the Google Maps app, I just find their maps easier to read and get the information I want.

No doubt Apple Maps will get better, but this is a chance for Android and other phone OS'es to gain some momentum. This is a stumble for Apple but they still have the best ecosystem out there, and let's face it, we're locked in. I have spent hundreds if not close to a thousand or more on apps, I find it a tough pill to swallow if I were to go to another OS.

They do seem to be in a lull though in terms of OS innovation, but I hope they wake up and start delivering killer software that complements the powerful and gorgeous hardware.

 

[SlCKB0Y]

I found a good use for streetview:

Garmin's new app:

- GOOGLE STREET VIEW provides users a street-level view of their destination before starting a route and shortly before arriving.

That is neat. It can show you what the place you want looks like as you get to your destination.

The turn by turn navigation in Google Maps for Android has done this exact thing for a few years now. 😀

 

[SlCKB0Y]

The 2 biggest features of the last 2 gens have been Siri and Maps. Both are beta quality junk at best. Not a good trend.

Especially considering that when Google came out with the very first release of Google Now, it absolutely destroyed Siri in speed, accuracy and voice quality.

----------

Coffee shops in treetops are nice to fill complaint threads like these, but in real life not many people care about such stuff.

Yea, unless you're trying to find the coffee shop, or you own the coffee shop and now business has dropped off because the Macbook toting , latte sipping iPhone hipsters can't find your shop
😀

 

[Brazuca]

The turn by turn navigation in Google Maps for Android has done this exact thing for a few years now. 😀

Another reason why apple has to make its own map. It needs to compete with this.

 

[SlCKB0Y]

Especially when in foreign areas we always ask locals or at the hotel for recommendations.

It might be a prejudice, but small restaurants that don't care at all about being online might actually be better and cheaper. OK, looking for the next McDonalds, Pizza Hut or Burger King might be of interest sometimes, but those are usually the first that are mapped.

I was in Mongolia recently (and they aren't known for being technologically advanced in the slightest) and I was using Google Maps to find really good, cheap local restaurants complete with reviews and directions to them.

I don't speak Mongolian (and almost no one there speaks English) and too often when travelling accommodation staff will direct you to a tourist trap or a place they get kick-backs from, so that rules out your ideas for my style of travel.

 

[Brazuca]

Especially considering that when Google came out with the very first release of Google Now, it absolutely destroyed Siri in speed, accuracy and voice quality.

I vaguely remember a comparison. But was google just doing searches or was it managing phone functions also?

By the way, just finished my first long trip with apple directions, and it was amazing. Short of some minor tweaks, it's exactly what I want in such app.

What it misses: repeat last direction
A better angle in 3d. It's too close at hwy speeds

That's it. Tiny adjustments. The philosophy is perfect. It isn't a HUD for drivers. It should inform you of directions and get out of the way. Keeps my focus on the road instead of following along on screen and zooming, etc.

9.5/10

 

[realeric]

The Hoover Dam example is overplayed and unfair.

The image shows up that way because they are showing a 2D image conformed to 3D terrain....it is not a flyover area.

This. Incompetent people too ignorant to know it. They expect that 2D satellite images with terrain date become 3D flyover. lol. 🙄

 

[SlCKB0Y]

The multitude of POIs (in google maps) looks great at first, but as I said not even covers every second or third shop or other kinds of businesses. But sure it covers those business with a huge marketing budget and the resulting premium prices.

Any business with a physical address can add a POI to Google Maps for free. What's it got to do with budget?
http://support.google.com/mapmaker/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1096044#plpl

----------

I vaguely remember a comparison. But was google just doing searches or was it managing phone functions also?

Android has had voice search and voice controls for years, and these are now integrated with Google Now.

It also does a lot of other stuff. Without any prompting from me, Google Now worked out my work address. It has also worked out the time I go to work and the route I take.

I used to get a bus and it would remind me 10 minutes before my bus leaves. It would also give me an ETA of getting to work. Once I got near the train station I was presented with train times.

Once I started driving to work, it automatically knew of delays ahead and told me about them and offered me an alternate quicker route.

All of this with zero prompting or input. Its like Siri but it actually works really well. It was actually a bit creepy at first.

 

[SlCKB0Y]

So this point of other third party apps now not functioning on the iPhone because their API ties to Apples Mapping that is not working in your area is Apples fault? When you purchased that app you bought that company's offering that they chose to tie to a specific mapping software. Apple didn't make them do that.

I've read over 50 pages of this thread and this is the best example of complete fan boy devotion I have found.

If a company is going to make an application which depends on mapping, do you think they are going to:

a. Tie their application to a mapping solution found on 100% of iPhones (and was previously excellent) and is completely integrated into the OS or;

b. Tie their application to mapping software which might be found on only a smaller percentage of iPhones and may cost money? A mapping application which is 3rd party and is much more sandboxed than the default OS mapping. A mapping solution which might go broke, or sell to another company and not be available for future updates to OS or hardware?

Are you seriously that deluded that you are blaming the App makers for issues faced by using iOS map APIs for programming?? It's their fault because they made the only sane technical and business-oriented choice available which was to use the builtin maps API??

I've heard you claim time and time again in this thread that you aren't a fan boy. Yea... right...

If you honestly can't see how blindly zealot your claims are then I simply can't read any more of your nonsense and you're going on my ignore list.

 

[dv8r]

I vaguely remember a comparison. But was google just doing searches or was it managing phone functions also?

It does some phone functions - but not most. Rumor has it that app integration will come late 2012, so we'll see. For now it can set a timer, reminder and some other basic stuff. Apart from that it's the ongoing information stream and updates that really kills - set a flight and it will keep you updated about delays and gate changes, without you prompting... if the airport have indoor navigation it will route you through the airport to the gate also.

 

[pdqgp]

If a company is going to make an application which depends on mapping, do you think they are going to:

a. Tie their application to a mapping solution found on 100% of iPhones (and was previously excellent) and is completely integrated into the OS or;

b. Tie their application to mapping software which might be found on only a smaller percentage of iPhones and may cost money? A mapping application which is 3rd party and is much more sandboxed than the default OS mapping. A mapping solution which might go broke, or sell to another company and not be available for future updates to OS or hardware?

There's no difference between 3P Co's using Apple Maps or a data set outside of them. Perhaps in cost, but again, that's their decision not Apple's. To your point A, they can easily base their apps on google maps and not loose any percentage of potential iPhone customers. 3P co's can easily tie their app to the processes inside iOS. Several other mapping programs tie into contacts just the same. I've asked them via email about linking to emails and calenders and their responses have been it's a matter of demand as a feature not whether they can or can't.

Are you seriously that deluded that you are blaming the App makers for issues faced by using iOS map APIs for programming?? It's their fault because they made the only sane technical and business-oriented choice available which was to use the builtin maps API??

It's not deluded. They made a choice to tie to Apple vs others. If you're such a support of these 3P co's that are now in a place where customers feel they can't use their respective apps any longer due to Apple maps not being accurate in their area, let's see if those same 3P co's do anything about the way they design their offerings.

If you honestly can't see how blindly zealot your claims are then I simply can't read any more of your nonsense and you're going on my ignore list.

Feel free to ignore me. Just like the 3P co's, you have choices too.

 

[pdqgp]

I don't hear all my friends ranting about how wonderful oxygen is but you can be damned sure i'll hear about it if at some point there isn't enough to go around. Do you see the analogy? 🙄

Want a more relevant one? Find me some posts on here talking about how great it is that people can send SMS from their phones.

Many of us use maps every day, sometimes multiple times a day on our phones and highly accessible, functional and accurate maps are just something people now take for granted in everyday life.

Dude bottom line is no one bought an iPhone for their maps app. Androids have had a much better system for years and thus the drama about the world of the iPhone coming to an end and the sky is falling is a bit dramatic. You'd think a room full of teenage girls just heard Justin Bieber died or something. 🙄 There are plenty of alternatives for POI's and mapping/routing. Deal with it already or if you choose, feel free to keep shedding tears for your perceived loss.

Did you ever consider that IF Google is making an app (and this hasn't even been confirmed yet), that they aren't releasing it because it simply isn't finished yet?

Sure, but do you think Google didn't have enough notice from Apple? Do you really think they lack the resources to fire off a replacement app? Do you think perhaps they don't really care and are letting you all suffer? In the end, let's see how quickly they respond or even if they do. That's on them not anyone else.

 

[PDE]

I just want to add an update:

Apple maps is still useless for me in London and the southeast of the uk. nothing has change nor any corrections made by apple here. I'm still pissed off. And the fanboys are still saying the same thing.

Oh, and I noticed that my battery life has been reduced by about 35% too since updating to ios 6.

 

[PrometheusGeek]

I just want to add an update:

Apple maps is still useless for me in London and the southeast of the uk. nothing has change nor any corrections made by apple here. I'm still pissed off. And the fanboys are still saying the same thing.

Oh, and I noticed that my battery life has been reduced by about 35% too since updating to ios 6.

iPhone works well in the US. it's made in the US. You should get one of the great, innovative phones made in England. It'll work better over there.

 

[matttye]

iPhone works well in the US. it's made in the US. You should get one of the great, innovative phones made in England. It'll work better over there.

What a copout.

Apple sells the phones in the UK, meaning they should WORK in the UK too.

If you bought a non-US car, would you say that it's okay if it just suddenly stopped working within a couple of weeks because it wasn't made in the US?

No, you would not, and a phone is no different.

You're clearly an Apple apologist.