Wow. Apple Maps is a disaster.

[Razeus]

I'm betting Apple is blocking Google Maps from the app store. It's pretty obvious. I think they know that their verison will get no love because the users will favor Google.

I'm also betting they are suppressing sales of alternative maps from rising on the charts.

 

[dukebound85]

This is why apple dropped google maps.

http://m.digitaltrends.com/mobile/why-are-companies-defecting-from-google-maps/

In short, google has plans to monetize companies who need map loads. After a certain threshold, you have to pay. In the case of apple where tere are millions of iPhones, iPads, iPods all accessing maps, those fees would start to add up dramatically when it was free in the past

Apple had no choice. Not that I am a fan but it needed to be done

 

[pdqgp]

- I blame apple because they replaced an application with one that is inferior and not as useful as one they originally had on their devices. I could care less why they parted ways, but what I do know is that the old native app is still serviceable on IOS5 and below.

YMMV but to me an others, it's actually a more useful app so to you inferior, to others not. I"m not asking if you care why they parted ways but the point is to understand why. The option to stay on iOS5.x does

- It should just work because that is exactly how Apple has advertised it as such for years.

I somewhat empathize with you on the past versions and perhaps what you might have been looking for in the new version, but it was clear from the keynote that it was new ground up stuff which if that wasn't enough to provoke at least a question or two on it's capabilities then shame on those that didn't ask. We all make assumptions but but before we press upgrade it's still up to us to insure the details. If that involves waiting a day or two so be it.

Appliances aren't made the same quality they once were either, so for my wife and I to "expect" a new very expensive machine will last even longer than our last very well built one might be one way to look at it, but we know that's not a reality. My old blackberry was easier to use, held a charge forever and never broke. Shouldn't I have even higher expectations of the iPhone? I think you get my point even if you don't agree.

- It can be replaced however cannot be fully integrated, again, making my life that much more difficult than previous versions, and again, against Apple's mantra.

I doubt your life is "much" more difficult. AGain, qualm the drama people. My life is much more difficult in many more ways than by what Apple has done on their quest to evolve from reliance on a 3rd party company that is a direct competitor. Perspective check needed. My life more difficult the moment I bought an iPad that needs cared for, charged, updated, etc.....but I make due and amplify the positives and have hung in their through the challenging times as I know the product does evolve to a better place. Not every move will be a step forward for everyone all the time.

You can make excuses all you want, but the ball has definitely been dropped, maps is definitely more cumbersome, the user experience has definitely been compromised, and that is definitely not the Apple way as we have come to know it.

Actually, it is the Apple we've come to know. I've had their products since the very first Apple ][ and can say it's never been all peaches and cream. There's aways a catch but in the end I always seem to really enjoy what their products can do for me over the competition. Thats taking into accounts that they aren't perfect either.

What you have come to know and Apple is facing is they raised the bar of expectations so high that now their fans aren't forgiving when they too need time to clear it.

 

[b24pgg]

So for all the drama of this whole two-thousand-post thread that you started, you were never going to be happy in the first place.

Oh I'm very happy since I use an Android device.

 

[pdqgp]

And when I'm able to set one of those as my default maps application of choice, You'll hear no more complaints - until then... it's a workaround, it might do the job, but still not integrated.

that's fair as a work around is a much better view than the world is coming to and end and apple is junk because of one small change some people have to now deal with.

 

[Brazuca]

I guess I'm one in a million too.

If I'm driving to a friend's house in London at the weekend I always check that sort of stuff out on streetview.

Where do you live, Brazuca? Have you ever travelled outside of your country?

Yeah. I've had to get more pages in my passport a few times and my job requires international travel. Have lived abroad for in multiple countries. Have family living in the middle of Africa, in Brazil, in Europe and friends to visit around the globe.

What is your point? I'm sure some here have traveled more, some less. Who cares?

I just want to understand something that I don't: the value of Street View. I honestly don't see the big deal. And so far I've only heard at how it helps you find parking rules and a lot that should be in the POI anyways. 20 petabytes of data every couple of weeks, and its used to read parking signs? There has got to be an app for that.

Lo and behold: 7 City Parking Apps

PrimoSpot looks exactly what you need:

Using Google Maps and a database of parking signs, PrimoSpot helps city dwellers in New York, Boston and Seattle find parking. This iOS or Android app lets you look up parking rules in your area and find out where there are great parking spots. The app doesn’t indicate which spots are available, but the map feature could be a neat way to figure out where you might find good parking. In addition to street parking, PrimoSpot gives users details about nearby garages, including address, phone number, hours and photos.

 

[dv8r]

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.

StreetView does this - you're welcome... I'm perfectly fine with you not liking Google, but let's do this based on facts not personal preferences.

 

[dewthedru]

this is a screen cap of entire blocks of businesses in Chicago that have no information. CHICAGO!!! this is what i've found for multiple areas in the city when trying to find POI to get to or send people.

btw, don't tell me it's because of my zoom level. i zoomed all the way in and out and didn't have anything show up.

 

[Brazuca]

StreetView does this - you're welcome... I'm perfectly fine with you not liking Google, but let's do this based on facts not personal preferences.

Ok. I guess StreetView is Google's parking rules app.

Meh.

 

[Daveoc64]

Ok. I guess StreetView is Google's parking rules app.

Meh.

It's just one of many things that you can do with Street View.

 

[firestarter]

Yeah. I've had to get more pages in my passport a few times and my job requires international travel. Have lived abroad for in multiple countries. Have family living in the middle of Africa, in Brazil, in Europe and friends to visit around the globe.

What is your point? I'm sure some here have traveled more, some less. Who cares?

A lot of the map-problem deniers seem to be small town USA-ers who have no concept of travel beyond their usual home-work-mall runs.

I just want to understand something that I don't: the value of Street View. I honestly don't see the big deal. And so far I've only heard at how it helps you find parking rules and a lot that should be in the POI anyways. 20 petabytes of data every couple of weeks, and its used to read parking signs? There has got to be an app for that.

Lo and behold: 7 City Parking Apps

PrimoSpot looks exactly what you need:

Probably not, since I live in London UK - not in NY, Boston or Seattle.

Why would I want lots of individual apps or stuff when street view covers the whole lot?

 

[Qfic]

What you have come to know and Apple is facing is they raised the bar of expectations so high that now their fans aren't forgiving when they too need time to clear it.

Thats it right there, you may consider yourself a fan, but I am a customer. I buy Apple products because of what they advertise and pride themselves on as the premium user experience. They downgraded that experience for many if not most of their users on a vital aspect of mobile devices. Its clearly not the end of the world, but its probably Apple's biggest f-up since the iphone was created and thats a big deal.

 

[pdqgp]

this is a screen cap of entire blocks of businesses in Chicago that have no information. CHICAGO!!! this is what i've found for multiple areas in the city when trying to find POI to get to or send people.

btw, don't tell me it's because of my zoom level. i zoomed all the way in and out and didn't have anything show up.

Image

Not all POI will graphically appear on the map simply upon zooming in. Search on coffee, chicago 60634 and you'll see push-pins pop up where they wouldn't be visible without actually doing the search.

It's all in how you use a tool. Not every GPS or mapping system is going to put every icon on the screen. It would be crazy busy overlapped with stuff. The deli on a main drag near me doesn't appear either, but if I type in deli and do a search a push pops up, shows yelp reviews and provides me with tons of choices to choose for my lunch.

 

[Brazuca]

A lot of the map-problem deniers seem to be small town USA-ers who have no concept of travel beyond their usual home-work-mall runs.



Probably not, since I live in London UK - not in NY, Boston or Seattle.

Why would I want lots of individual apps or stuff when street view covers the whole lot?

Not to be rude, but "seem to be" is an assumption that you are making. Plus, I don't see anyone here denying that there are problems. Heck, I think that in the UK it is a clusterf***. Nobody is denying that.

Apple has to get its stuff together ASAP. But for a lot of people, iMaps is a vast improvement over gMaps neutered option we had before. Just TBTD is huge. And I really, honestly, find 3D useful. I *think* I'll use it more often than streetview, which isn't saying much.

Again, YMMV. But this is precisely the point.

 

[Scott006]

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.

Otherwise, its use seems to be to find parking garages. POIs should handle this, no?

I use street view all the time.
It's useful to plan routes to places I don't know, I can virtually walk the route so when I'm doing it for real, I know I'm on the right track.
I also use it to search out bus stops, it's no use asking the bus driver to stop as you are passing one, it's useful to know when you should press the button.
There are many other uses such as finding the right house before you travel - never again shall we have to drive up and down a street, and even to practice driving theory in real world situations.

 

[pdqgp]

Thats it right there, you may consider yourself a fan, but I am a customer. I buy Apple products because of what they advertise and pride themselves on as the premium user experience. They downgraded that experience for many if not most of their users on a vital aspect of mobile devices. Its clearly not the end of the world, but its probably Apple's biggest f-up since the iphone was created and thats a big deal.

I'm a fan and a customer that has over 50 ipads and 50 iphones deployed just in my sale region for my team. we're heavy users.

I also understand the challenges they face in business related to google maps and what it's like to deploy a cometetors solutions and the costs and limitations that also comes with. You might not see those nor have they displayed them to the public, but they exist. This change wasn't made to ******** up your life and that of others.

If you're a customers that doesn't look beyond the first hurdle you've encountered without asking questions or looking at options to solve issues it generates than I think you're being a bit short sighted and likely the exact type of target the competition will go after.

 

[Sdreed91]

I think it's a lie - but by all means supply the evidence...

I am not going to argue with you over my poor experience. I don't have data from over a year ago. Do you collect and save information from all of your failed mapping experiences?

Honestly? Was I supposed to take screen shots well over a year ago knowing that someone would require proof that the Sacred Google maps did not work?

 

[dv8r]

Ok. I guess StreetView is Google's parking rules app.

Meh.

Do you even know about the inner workings of Google Maps (and how StreetView ties into this)?

----------

I am not going to argue with you over my poor experience. I don't have data from over a year ago. Do you collect and save information from all of your failed mapping experiences?

Honestly? Was I supposed to take screen shots well over a year ago knowing that someone would require proof the the Sacred Google maps did not work?

I tend to write Google to get them fixed - so in a way, yes.

I'm don't doubt that Google Maps has it's flaws, but the "never works"... not so much.

 

[Sdreed91]

Do you even know about the inner workings of Google Maps (and how StreetView ties into this)?

----------



I tend to write Google to get them fixed - so in a way, yes.

I'm don't doubt that Google Maps has it's flaws, but the "never works"... not so much.

Okay. I will give you that. Now reading it from your post I could see where that was a big claim. Google maps for me has not worked as well as others in this thread have said it does for them. So maybe I am a rare case I do not know but Google has not been magical for me.

I will thank you for not being uncivilized about this. It is an all to common occurrence on Macrumors to be attacked, so thank you for not doing so. It is nice to have a civilized debate.

 

[KeanosMagicHat]

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.

Otherwise, its use seems to be to find parking garages. POIs should handle this, no?

Why pick and choose aspects of what people post? That's not my entire quote on the subject, so please do not misrepresent what I've said.

This is why apple dropped google maps.

http://m.digitaltrends.com/mobile/why-are-companies-defecting-from-google-maps/

In short, google has plans to monetize companies who need map loads. After a certain threshold, you have to pay. In the case of apple where tere are millions of iPhones, iPads, iPods all accessing maps, those fees would start to add up dramatically when it was free in the past

Apple had no choice. Not that I am a fan but it needed to be done

So Google wanted to finally make money from companies for supplying them with a mapping service that is acknowledged by many as the best in the world.

A service that Apple has been enjoying the benefits of since the introduction of the iPhone in 2007.

Apple claims to have been developing their maps capability for three years now, so wouldn't it have been better for them to shell out some of the billions they make from loyal customers like us to allow us to continue with the high standards we expect of maps, develop their own application in the background & release it when it's truly capable?

They had a choice and they chose not to spend that money, keep shareholders sweet & turn the world into a big beta (some would say alpha) testing lab.

 

[John.B]

It's just one of many things that you can do with Street View.

Funny, because I've never been able to read what anything said on street view, it's mostly a pixelated mess zoomed in far enough to be able to actually read anything.

 

[andrunious]

hope you don't rely on maps...

 

[Heb 7:4]

Bloody hell. Are the apologists still at it? Apple maps are toilet and a major misstep by apple. What more needs to be said?

I never really understood the jokes about "fanboys" till now. I love apple products, but they're just a company. I don't owe them anything, and to see some desperately defending maps is bizarre.

 

[shandyman]

Google maps, for the last 7 years has shown my estate as half built, it was completed 7 years ago. Also it has my road twice, one where it should be, then again about 100 feet north, running parallel and running through a row of houses. When making a route on it, it always uses the messed up road. Something that has been reported to google and ignored.

Apple maps, not only shows the estate fully completed with correct satellite images, also has the road correct and not the messed up version google has... So just shows google ain't perfect...

 

[KeanosMagicHat]

Google maps, for the last 7 years has shown my estate as half built, it was completed 7 years ago. Also it has my road twice, one where it should be, then again about 100 feet north, running parallel and running through a row of houses. When making a route on it, it always uses the messed up road. Something that has been reported to google and ignored.

Apple maps, not only shows the estate fully completed with correct satellite images, also has the road correct and not the messed up version google has... So just shows google ain't perfect...

So Google Maps is crap in Newbury, an area I know well because Vodafone used to be a customer of mine.

Are you seriously going to contest that when it comes to the globe that Apple Maps is more useful than Google Maps and more accurate?