51–60 of 121 posts
The only reason for me not to use Apple Maps (in the US) is that they are far behind GMaps in POI data.
One of my biggest irks with Google Maps is how aggressively it shows pins for hotels, bars and restaurants, even on their search results map. Do users really feel the need for this constant in-your-face advertisement? But as I type this, I realized Google is primarily an ad business and whatever will drive that revenue will get pushed further. Oh well.
yeah nobody cares about the "Latest in " menu that takes up a third of your phone's screen when you use the Maps app.
I moved somewhere new in the past few years, and it's pretty great when you're exploring a new neighborhood you know nothing about.
> The new New York map above looks comically bad, almost like student-level work. I found the new NY map refreshing because of its higher contrast between the streets and city blocks. Feels like it's easier to get a handle on what's on the screen. Granted, whenever a product gives me the opportunity to opt for increased contrast, I usually go for it.
Yeah, I don’t know what the author is talking about. I loved his comparisons over the years, but Google Maps (and others, really) are atrocious to use because of extremely low contrast; the blue version is much better (even if potentially “uglier”) For a product meant to be used outdoors, Maps does an awful job at being readable.
It would be easier to trace the shape of the roads, but that's not how I personally use a map. I'm much more focused on the name of a neighborhood or the name of a road, and its relative position.
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Yes, there are many possible conflicts of interest in mapping. This is why I'm excited to see the improving usability of Open Street Maps through apps like Organic Maps, and big commercial investments in open mapping data from the Overture Maps Foundation. In many cases OSM has much more detail than google maps, with business listings and addresses being the biggest exceptions I have encountered. Fortunately, busines…
If you really just want a map, go use OSM. I love it as well and even contributed. But Google Maps is much more than OSM. The biggest difference and most important feature is its real-time traffic. OSM is just a totally different product seen through the car navigation lens.
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If you really just want a map, go use OSM. I love it as well and even contributed. But Google Maps is much more than OSM. The biggest difference and most important feature is its real-time traffic. OSM is just a totally different product seen through the car navigation lens.
Absolutely true. OSM, conversely, is an infinitely better dataset for pedestrian and bike navigation.