New Apple iOS 6 Maps

[6a]

I really, really miss the traffic info.  That was by far the primary use of the maps function for me.  I don't give a shit that there is pothole repair going on in some alley.

I used (and continue to use) the traffic info from the Sigalert app instead...generally more accurate, shows where and what the incidents are.

OK, that's cool.  I'd always thought of Sigalert as a CA thing, now I know it is not.  This app is really touchy, but once I set it where I want it, it does the same thing I wanted from the old iPhone app.  Thanks for letting me know about it.

[Kacie Jane]

You may or may not be amused by the various comparisons here. http://iwastesomuchtime.com/on/?i=51543

[SSOWorld]

Hence why my iPhone and iPad still have iOS 5.1.1 on them.

[codyg1985]

You may or may not be amused by the various comparisons here. http://iwastesomuchtime.com/on/?i=51543

Wow, even WSDOT is joining in the fun.

[mjb2002]

From what I have been reading, Apple Maps is a straight-up cartoon. If this was a rating based on the number of laughs it could get, I'd rate it a 10.

But, I gave it a 1 for many reasons.

[empirestate]

You'd think that as a maphead, I'd be more bothered by the problems with the app, but frankly I'm just not. For one, I'm familiar with many of its quirks as pretty typical of digital map technology (like the "melting" 3D landscapes and patchy aerial imagery). Add in the spotty and inaccurate data, and on the whole, the app isn't much different from how Google Maps was when it was a new thing. Google has vastly improved over the years, and given the same development period, I'd fully expect Apple Maps to be just as good if they decide to put effort into it. (Obviously, part of the consternation is that a well-developed product was replaced with an upstart attempt, and that's a valid complaint, but the nature of the problems themselves isn't especially remarkable.)

And furthermore, since I am a map enthusiast, I already have so many different apps and things that I can also use, that the loss of just this one isn't nearly as big a deal to me as it would be to someone who always relied exclusively on the Google app. It's the same as how I use the WeatherBug and TWC apps far more often than Apple's native Weather app. If the latter were to go away, it wouldn't affect me all that much.

[Duke87]

And then there's the icon. 

[wphiii]

on the whole, the app isn't much different from how Google Maps was when it was a new thing. Google has vastly improved over the years, and given the same development period, I'd fully expect Apple Maps to be just as good if they decide to put effort into it.

The problem is, Google Maps was a "new thing" in 2005. It's taken them seven years to get to where they are right now. Even accounting for a quicker development process given advances in technology and methodology, etc., I still don't have the patience to wait for Apple Maps to evolve into a legitimately comparable product, especially when you consider a) Apple's complete refusal to crowd-source (which is a massive help for Google) and b) the fact that it's hardly like Google is just going to be sitting on its laurels this whole time. Factor in egregious personal problems that I have with Apple's product (i.e., pretty-but-practically-worthless "3d" view in lieu of actual street view), and all Apple has done is cemented Google as my online map provider of choice, and I know I'm not the only one who feels that way.

[vdeane]

Google also started out with better quality too.  Remember, Google only recently started doing its own data.  For the longest time, they got their data from the same provider as MapQuest.

[Jim]

So far I have held out and kept the ipad at IOS 5 in part because of the reaction here and elsewhere to the Apple Maps, and in part because I usually like to let a new OS iron out the bugs for a month or so before jumping in.  I'll probably do the update in a few weeks, and if and when Apple's maps aren't good enough, I'll go to maps.google.com in Chrome.  Other than losing a bit of screen real estate to the browser's tabs, I don't think I'll mind being in Chrome as opposed to the standalone Google Maps app.

[hbelkins]

So far I have held out and kept the ipad at IOS 5 in part because of the reaction here and elsewhere to the Apple Maps, and in part because I usually like to let a new OS iron out the bugs for a month or so before jumping in.  I'll probably do the update in a few weeks, and if and when Apple's maps aren't good enough, I'll go to maps.google.com in Chrome.  Other than losing a bit of screen real estate to the browser's tabs, I don't think I'll mind being in Chrome as opposed to the standalone Google Maps app.

I was going to ask if Google will do their own downloadable Maps app once it's no longer part of the iOS.

I usually wait until the bugs are ironed out and there's a jailbreak. Plus, where I am on HughesNet satellite internet, the iOS updates are larger than my daily download allowances and the connection is slow and prone to resetting. I always have to wait until I'm traveling and am at a hotel with reasonably fast wi-fi before I can download any major app updates, much less the system upgrade.

Have I mentioned lately that HughesNet blows goats and I have proof?

[Stratuscaster]

Apple's Tim Cook apparently apologized for Maps, and suggested that folks use Google and Bing maps - presumably via web browser in the case of Google Maps - for the time being.

IMHO, they shouldn't have killed Google Maps within iOS 6, but certainly could have included Apple Maps as a beta - because that's really what it is at this point.

[Jim]

From what I've gathered, they didn't want to continue the deal with Google where the preinstalled "Maps" app was Google's.  And Google has not yet submitted a Google Maps app for IOS to be available in the App Store.  It sounds like they will, but they're just kind of enjoying sitting back and watching Apple embarrass themselves over this for a little while.

[Scott5114]

From what I have heard Google actually has an iOS 6 app ready to go but it's just waiting on approval from Apple.

I also wouldn't ascribe Google's success to crowdsourcing. Their accuracy level was highest with their original data from NAVTEQ, took a hit when they switched to Tele Atlas, then went all to hell with the crowdsourced data. It's a wonder it's still more accurate than Apple.

[Stratuscaster]

Bing's got issues, too. "BR" on business routes gets shown as "Branch".

[1995hoo]

Steve Jobs was IMMENSELY pissed at Google because he believed Android was a rip-off of iOS. No doubt that had something to do with it.

[Duke87]

I also wouldn't ascribe Google's success to crowdsourcing. Their accuracy level was highest with their original data from NAVTEQ, took a hit when they switched to Tele Atlas, then went all to hell with the crowdsourced data. It's a wonder it's still more accurate than Apple.

Google's problem is that they don't have good quality control. Someone makes an oops like marking US 209 as I-209, and it goes live rather than getting caught. OSM, meanwhile, is 100% crowdsourced and has quite a high level of accuracy... but that is of course helped immensely by the fact that only map geeks have ever heard of it and the idiots who submit all the stupid errors to Google don't touch it. I suppose, also, that it being less well known makes it a less attractive target for vandalism.

Steve Jobs was IMMENSELY pissed at Google because he believed Android was a rip-off of iOS.

As a Droid user, I... can't argue with that assessment.

Not the first time Apple has had a big idea stolen. Windows was a rip-off of the original Mac GUI, let's not forget. But that's just how capitalism works: you're going to have competitors offering a similar product, no matter what you make. And being the person who had the idea is meaningless if someone else can implement it better than you can.

[1995hoo]

Don't forget that the Mac GUI was itself a ripoff of something Xerox invented. 

[Scott5114]

It's probably more along the lines that they wanted to save money by not having to license the app from Google or that they wanted to bring people closer to the Apple brand than petty revenge from a dead CEO, though.

[hbelkins]

Not the first time Apple has had a big idea stolen. Windows was a rip-off of the original Mac GUI, let's not forget. But that's just how capitalism works: you're going to have competitors offering a similar product, no matter what you make. And being the person who had the idea is meaningless if someone else can implement it better than you can.

Windows better than the Mac OS? Excuse me while I 

[doorknob60]

Relevant. Ever look closely at the Apple maps icon?


EDIT: Oh someone already pointed it out earlier, but I found this really funny when I realized it today 

[Stratuscaster]

Biggest deal to Apple was that Google was keeping "turn-by-turn directions" exclusive to Android and wouldn't provide it to iOS.

And yes, Apple isn't above borrowing or buying something that it thinks is good. Neither is Google.

[Duke87]

Not the first time Apple has had a big idea stolen. Windows was a rip-off of the original Mac GUI, let's not forget. But that's just how capitalism works: you're going to have competitors offering a similar product, no matter what you make. And being the person who had the idea is meaningless if someone else can implement it better than you can.

Windows better than the Mac OS? Excuse me while I 

I speak in terms of measurable business success, not subjective opinion. Windows has always had a greater market share than MacOS, though they have lost some ground in recent years.

"Better" just means "makes more profit". Consumer appeal depends on more than quality of product, it also depends a lot on cost. A good enough cheap product will always beat out a top notch expensive product. This is the exact same reason Sony lost the home video war: Betamax was a better product than VHS, but it was more expensive and the extra quality did not justify the extra cost to people.

Of course, it's corporations that drive market share with computers more than individual consumers. Even if more people are starting to like Macs, the accounting departments at every major company in America still see that they're more expensive and will never start buying them unless that changes.

[1995hoo]

It's probably more along the lines that they wanted to save money by not having to license the app from Google or that they wanted to bring people closer to the Apple brand than petty revenge from a dead CEO, though.

Maybe, maybe not. If there's any company I could see sticking with a dead CEO's desire for revenge, or with his other biases (such as his anger at Adobe and consequent refusal to allow Flash on the iPhone and iPad), it's Apple. Don't know whether that's a factor in this particular case.

[realjd]

Windows better than the Mac OS? Excuse me while I 

I use both Windows 7 and OSX regularly both for work and at home. I find OSX more pleasant for casual use and Windows 7 more productive for serious work. The OSX dock is a textbook example of bad HCI design IMO and is a source of endless frustration for myself.

Opening up the app store on both my ipad and my iphone today, there's a new "download maps that don't suck" button. I think Bing is my favorite of the free ones.