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If I Were Google, I Wouldn’t Release A Native iOS 6 Maps App For Six Months

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Re: If I Were Google, I Wouldn’t Release A Native iOS 6 Maps App For Six Months

#21

Post by rimantas »

Irfaan wrote: post #8

"If I were Google, I wouldn’t launch a native Maps app for iOS 6 for at least six months, [...]" If I were in Google's shoes, I wouldn't be launching a native Maps app. Period. It's not like Maps is driving vast amounts of search revenue for Google. And with the degraded functionality of Apple's own Maps app, Google's Map app has become a reason for a buyer to consider switching to a Google-blessed Android phone. And…

  > If I were in Google's shoes, I wouldn't be launching
  > a native Maps app. Period.
I hope Google does just that. It takes a nontrivial amount of stupidity to think that Apple does not know shortcomings of its maps application and are not working on fixing that.

Loosing iOS users for some barely noticeable amount of switchers is hardly a good business for Google—do they even make money from Android phones someone sells? I heard Microsoft makes more money than Google does.

Re: If I Were Google, I Wouldn’t Release A Native iOS 6 Maps App For Six Months

#23

Post by hcarvalhoalves »

mladenkovacevic wrote: post #10

This is exactly the OPPOSITE of why I'm intrigued and impressed by Google as a company. They just want people to have access to their services. They are not about authoritative control over who gets access and locking their users in a walled garden. Android is wonderful and Google's done a great job of integrating their services with it.. but why shouldn't iOS users have at least some of the same benefits (if Apple a…

"They are not about authoritative control over who gets access and locking their users in a walled garden."

You think the iOS maps app was stagnant for such a long time because of what? Because Apple is lazy?

It's obvious they don't want to be on the hand of a competitor. Google Maps used to be free with a large API quota when released, remember? Then, once everybody was using it, they updated the API and imposed a much more limited free quota (almost useless), and released a premium version.

Well, I tried getting in touch with anyone at Google to get a quote about the price for their premium API. I couldn't even talk to a human, let alone pay for the service. Now imagine you're Apple, and how much Google would charge.

Re: If I Were Google, I Wouldn’t Release A Native iOS 6 Maps App For Six Months

#24

Post by rdl »

This clearly makes commercial sense for Google in the short/medium term, but fails "don't be evil".

I got screwed by iOS 6 Beta's lack of transit directions in NYC this summer; I had no reason to expect a serious feature regression, and I'm amazed this made it to release. It might be a Cupertino vs SF thing, but really, even a car owning Bay Area tech person is going to use the subway when visiting NYC or some other cities, so even Apple employees though have prioritized it.

Re: If I Were Google, I Wouldn’t Release A Native iOS 6 Maps App For Six Months

#25

Post by LoganCale »

hcarvalhoalves wrote: post #12

Really? Although the maps show less information, I found the navigation feature much more usable now. For me, it's the most useful feature since I don't have a car with GPS and TomTom's app is pricey. Now I have it built-in. For finding other stuff I can always use other apps or Google Maps mobile, which is very decent too.

The routing is nice. The maps themselves are much less detailed and in many areas have no detail at all or are completely incorrect, in the sense that they show roads in places where there have never been roads, and roads which have been there for 30 years are absent.

Re: If I Were Google, I Wouldn’t Release A Native iOS 6 Maps App For Six Months

#26

Post by dannyr »

zachalexander wrote: post #16
veidr wrote: post #6

The iOS 6 maps subsystem is the worst OS component regression Apple has shipped since Open Transport 1.0. It is really bad, and if navigating a city is one of your key phone usage scenarios, this change makes Apple's arch-rival's devices significantly more attractive than they otherwise would be. I carry around both the latest Apple phone and the latest Google phone, and this is one area where the Google phone was al…

I think it's a tricky question. Wait six months: increases the pain iOS users feel, and possibly increases migration to Android, but by how much? If you've bought an iPhone 5, in many cases that means a 1-year contract (or renewal). And in six months, Apple may have released a better Maps app that fixes the problem. Release Google Maps for iOS sooner: iPhone users feel less pain, but Google Maps keeps more users. Act…

Well, not every IPhone user upgraded the past week or so. Some people might think twice about upgrading to the IPhone 5 based on the complaints on the Maps app.

While there are people who are loyal Apple fans, there are some that are on the fence. This might be enough to push them over to Android or Windows Phone.

Once you go to another platform, you're likely locked into a 2-year contract and it's going to be hard for Apple to get them back.

Re: If I Were Google, I Wouldn’t Release A Native iOS 6 Maps App For Six Months

#27

Post by batgaijin »

zachalexander wrote: post #16
veidr wrote: post #6

The iOS 6 maps subsystem is the worst OS component regression Apple has shipped since Open Transport 1.0. It is really bad, and if navigating a city is one of your key phone usage scenarios, this change makes Apple's arch-rival's devices significantly more attractive than they otherwise would be. I carry around both the latest Apple phone and the latest Google phone, and this is one area where the Google phone was al…

I think it's a tricky question. Wait six months: increases the pain iOS users feel, and possibly increases migration to Android, but by how much? If you've bought an iPhone 5, in many cases that means a 1-year contract (or renewal). And in six months, Apple may have released a better Maps app that fixes the problem. Release Google Maps for iOS sooner: iPhone users feel less pain, but Google Maps keeps more users. Act…

Why does google care about people using Google Maps? The little bit of money + data they'd get from it is nothing compared to the level of frustration and outright hatred that a key app misfunctioning like this might create.

I'm betting Apple won't fix it in 6 months unless they start buying map corps.

Re: If I Were Google, I Wouldn’t Release A Native iOS 6 Maps App For Six Months

#29

Post by joshu »

vosper wrote: post #2

Mapping is, for me, the single greatest boon of smartphones. Nothing else is appreciated in a pinch like a good map or routing - I could do away with everything else. For Apple to cripple such a fantastic feature and leave themselves at the mercy of their arch-rival - whom they've been energetically suing - is baffling.

I love the fact that I can parachute in to some random city and walk around like I know what I am doing between maps and Yelp. I do not want to give that up.

Re: If I Were Google, I Wouldn’t Release A Native iOS 6 Maps App For Six Months

#30

Post by steve8918 »

I would pay a lot of money for a native Google Maps app. It's the single most used feature for me on my phone.

The only feature I want is the ability to download maps to the phone. Going to another country and not having maps is debilitating. I spent $300 by not realizing how much data I would download, and download a map while in the middle of one of the Great Lakes in Canada. Being able to download maps while at a wifi connection for the city that I'm in is crucial.

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