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Paper map sales are booming

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Re: Paper map sales are booming

#281

Post by ChuckMcM »

mangoleaf wrote: post #264
ChuckMcM wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One could argue that "most" people[1] have iPhones (at least in the US). And yes it is only 22% world wide. But putting aside the currently available "seats" for a moment, at the point where is it clearly the better product then two things start happening 1) People start buying Apple hardware because it has a better map experience. 2) Apple can produce the iMap device, likely in cooperation with their maps partner To…

I live USA, Stanford engineer, have an Android phone and will likely never have an iPhone. My other gender breeding partner has to have an apple, so I use hers at times and am appalled at how difficult things are. But if she can't facetime friends, then she will lose face. I get free phones, and see pays large fees for hers. Sorry, I pass. I work in finance BTW.

I think that is great. FWIW I worked at Google and still have the original Dream phone in a box somewhere. And while I used iPads since the Android tablet experience never really congealed for me, used an Android phone until the iPhone 13 SE I currently own.

I am also a firm believer that everyone should "vote with their wallet" for the products they want, so no judgement, on my part, on folks who buy one product or the other.

In my experience I find that for every product I buy, the various choices all come with pluses and minuses. I go through that list and apply my own importance rating on each one and come up with my final choice.

My original comment was that Apple Maps are getting better, they were at one time a complete joke. I use maps on my phone all the time, it is probably the largest use of mine after "looking things up on the web" or "communicating" via text or voice. As a result of this improvement in maps, it made this particular choice (for me) a better choice on the iPhone than on an android phone.

I can tell that some people heard my comment above "if you don't own an iPhone you are stupid" or something like that. It certainly wasn't my intent. Never easy to know how something you say will be heard.

My other experience is that products that get "better" overall, supplant, then replace what existed before them. Whether it is TVs, cars, computers, or phones. I still have a Garmin Navigator in my car's glove box but I don't think I have used it in nearly a decade. And yet there was a time when devices of that form were 90+% of the market for "in vehicle navigation."

Re: Paper map sales are booming

#282

Post by eternityforest »

worthless-trash wrote: post #273
eternityforest wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd even argue that darning socks might be more relevant to everyday life than map reading, even though map reading is more important in emergencies and people should probably know both. If you can darn socks you can probably fix holes in your pants, and if you have a car charger, getting lost happens a lot less than clothes repair, at least in the city.

I dunno man, I think most people would be lost without the iDarn app.

iDarn sells data to the NSAGBCP, darnIT is well worth the subscription and has a community tier that only crashes a few times in 10min.

Re: Paper map sales are booming

#283

Post by marcosdumay »

convolvatron wrote: post #208
marcosdumay wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it's something like what we had at my country, it's not a travel plan . It's a book, fully indexed, with searchable and fully reviewed information about the place you are going and the path in between. You use it to make your own plan, or to improvise. Specifically about improvisation, it has become almost impossible nowadays because there is no reliable information about anything.

monetization really screwed this up. having a connected computer in your pocket with the ability to search everything and make shelter and travel reservations and perform other important actions instantly should really be perfect for this. but somehow I always end up having to sign up for a bunch of services in a hurry and take crappy pictures of my id only to find out that the hotel doesn't know anything about my re…

It's not exactly monetization. It's plain dishonesty.

That killed plenty of guides before our current era of universal dishonesty.

Re: Paper map sales are booming

#284

Post by GeekyBear »

lmm wrote: post #252
tannhaeuser wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple isn't a serious contender because their devices aren't sponsored by tracking/ads? You can also get an iOS device (partly) included with a post-paid mobile plan, can't you?

> Apple isn't a serious contender because their devices aren't sponsored by tracking/ads? Apple isn't a serious contender because they don't sell anything in the low-end segment. Ferrari make great cars but you can't expect everyone to drive a Ferrari. > You can also get an iOS device (partly) included with a post-paid mobile plan, can't you? That acts as a payment plan, but you're still paying the full cost (usually…

A $399 iPhone SE that has gotten seven years of OS updates and is still getting security updates today is as cost effective as several bargain bin devices that have to be quickly replaced.

Re: Paper map sales are booming

#285

Post by lmm »

GeekyBear wrote: post #284
lmm wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Apple isn't a serious contender because their devices aren't sponsored by tracking/ads? Apple isn't a serious contender because they don't sell anything in the low-end segment. Ferrari make great cars but you can't expect everyone to drive a Ferrari. > You can also get an iOS device (partly) included with a post-paid mobile plan, can't you? That acts as a payment plan, but you're still paying the full cost (usually…

A $399 iPhone SE that has gotten seven years of OS updates and is still getting security updates today is as cost effective as several bargain bin devices that have to be quickly replaced.

Maybe. If you have the $399 upfront or the credit rating to get it on a phone contract. If you have anything to spend on buying a phone at all as opposed to having to use whatever hand-me-down device found its way to you.

Re: Paper map sales are booming

#286

Post by wilg »

I love headline writing.

Headline: "Forget google maps!!!!"

Article: "This [map] shows all the rivers in the U.S., with each color representing a different river basin."

I ain't navigating by color coded river basins, fellas!

Re: Paper map sales are booming

#287

Post by doktorhladnjak »

SoftTalker wrote: post #232
phaedryx wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've found that when I'm planning things I tend to use Google Maps, but when I get in the car I tend to use Apple maps. I swear there are little differences like Google instructions will be "In X feet... turn right" where Apple is "turn right at the stop sign" which is easier to follow.

Yeah that’s nice but Apple Maps have also routed me down narrow rural roads, occasionally across private property, and proclaimed that I was at my destination when I was looking out the window at a vacant lot. In my experience, Google’s tech is better.

My take is it turns out this way because Google’s map data is better but Apple’s user experience is better. Google Maps seems to have completely stagnated on both data and user experience whereas Apple seems to be getting better on both fronts all the time. It’s Google’s market to lose.

Re: Paper map sales are booming

#288

Post by efreak »

GeekyBear wrote: post #284
lmm wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Apple isn't a serious contender because their devices aren't sponsored by tracking/ads? Apple isn't a serious contender because they don't sell anything in the low-end segment. Ferrari make great cars but you can't expect everyone to drive a Ferrari. > You can also get an iOS device (partly) included with a post-paid mobile plan, can't you? That acts as a payment plan, but you're still paying the full cost (usually…

A $399 iPhone SE that has gotten seven years of OS updates and is still getting security updates today is as cost effective as several bargain bin devices that have to be quickly replaced.

$400 isn't low-end. The Samsung phone I got from T-Mobile for a one-time payment of $40 after taxes (for trading in a flip phone) is a low end phone. I've been using it for over a year, and I expect to continue using it for at least another year, probably two. At that point, I might just switch to a flip phone, since I spend my money on nice large tablets instead of oversized phones. Hopefully there'll be a decently priced flip phone that'll last more than 2 years.

Re: Paper map sales are booming

#289

Post by RomanAlexander »

TedDoesntTalk wrote: post #193
larrik wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been growing pretty dissatisfied with the state of electronic maps. Basic things that are usually either impossible or difficult while using Google Maps or Apple Maps for directions: - What road am I on? What town am I in? - and other flavors of "where the hell am I, anyway?" - This is especially annoying when on the phone and the person is asking where you are, and the best you can answer is "Google says I'm X…

There's no way to see a street name on Apple Maps without zooming in entirely. And sometimes even then, I'll see something like Route 99 instead the name by which everyone refers to the road: "Broadway".

Made even worse by traveling in a country with a language you can't read. sometimes it shows the native language, zoom in it might show an English transliteration. if you're showing it to a taxi driver it'll definitely not show the native language.

Re: Paper map sales are booming

#290

Post by GeekyBear »

efreak wrote: post #288
GeekyBear wrote: post #284

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A $399 iPhone SE that has gotten seven years of OS updates and is still getting security updates today is as cost effective as several bargain bin devices that have to be quickly replaced.

$400 isn't low-end. The Samsung phone I got from T-Mobile for a one-time payment of $40 after taxes (for trading in a flip phone) is a low end phone. I've been using it for over a year, and I expect to continue using it for at least another year, probably two. At that point, I might just switch to a flip phone, since I spend my money on nice large tablets instead of oversized phones. Hopefully there'll be a decently…

> $400 isn't low-end. The Samsung phone I got from T-Mobile for a one-time payment of $40

Are we pretending that T-Mobile won't cut you a deal on an iPhone SE?

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