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The Amazing iOS 6 Maps

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Re: The Amazing iOS 6 Maps

#251

Post by drivebyacct2 »

qq66 wrote: post #170
jad wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It seems like the quality level maintained by Steve Jobs is quickly deteriorating in favour of business moves designed to wrest more control off Google. This stuff gets so tiresome. Apple has been buying maps companies for years . Steve Jobs personally ran acquisitions at Apple. He decided which mapping companies to buy and when he did he probably had a good idea of how they would fit into the platform. Development…

It's not that tiresome. Jobs would have clearly done things differently. He would have either 1) paid retail prices for Google Maps API access until Apple could build a shippable product, or 2) Gone on stage and painted Google as a big evil bully who was stealing good Maps from iPhone users -- the media headlines would read "Google Reneges on Loyal Apple customers" or something like that. Notably, the second option i…

In that case, I'm glad Tim Cook handled it the way he did. I'm an Android user who would be happy to see people checking out Android 4.0, 4.1 and finding out that it's much better than what they think they know of Android.

At the same time, I totally respect and get why Apple did this. I applaud competition with Google Maps (I'd love to see OSM become a success too).

Re: The Amazing iOS 6 Maps

#252

Post by drivebyacct2 »

batista wrote: post #55
AJ007 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Directions being ok most for most people, most of the time, is hardly acceptable. Google Maps had a tendency to drop pins for locations on the wrong spot. That meant I always had to confirm the location with street view, 100% of the time. Going to the wrong spot can be catastrophic in some instances (wrong or non existent hospital.) In others it can be really bad (missing a critical meeting, walking in during a weddi…

> I'll be moving to Android. Google's Android? As in Google, the inventor of the "perpetual beta"?

And have you used Android lately?

Re: The Amazing iOS 6 Maps

#253

Post by toyg »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #115
SoftwareMaven wrote: post #62

I look at this and can't believe Apple wanted to ship with this. And I mean that literally, not incredulously. I believe Apple wants to be in carol of its mapping future, but this product isn't ready yet, and I don't think Apple is so delusional to not be able to see that. So that makes me wonder what happened in contract negotiations with Google to force it out. Did Google flat-out say "No"? Seems unlikely. Was it j…

You are probably correct. However if you look at Google's moves in the maps API with respect to charging money the simplest explanation is that Apple and Google could not come to terms on the price for access and so Apple went with 'plan B'. Given the pain Apple is causing Google in its patent assault I don't doubt for a minute that the senior management at Google would have any regrets about 'losing' the Apple map b…

> the simplest explanation is that Apple and Google could not come to terms on the price for access

Yeah, it's not like Apple is sitting on a mountain of cash right now! Oh wait...

Re: The Amazing iOS 6 Maps

#254

Post by headShrinker »

toyg wrote: post #232
cooldeal wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Microsoft got so such pass with WP7 and that was an entirely new OS/platform! Well, around tech circles, Apple and Google frequently get more free passes compared to Microsoft. And that's kind of funny because Nokia just put out a comparison with Apple and Google maps to cash in on this hoopla. http://conversations.nokia.com/2012/09/20/benchmarking-mobil...

Nokia acquired Navteq, which was already a top player in the mapping space. For about a year, their horrible S60-based models were selling well because they all had free high-quality mapping apps with turn-by-turn navigation and TomTom directors were shitting their pants. Then Apple and Google "divorced" while the iPhone was exploding, Google basically stopped improving Maps on iOS (all features went to Android), and…

It's not really fair to qualify Apple's entire product as "falling 5 years behind" based on one app. The phone is far more polished in virtually every other way. Maps is important, other things are important too.

Re: The Amazing iOS 6 Maps

#257

Post by angryasian »

_djo_ wrote: post #241
angryasian wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Google basically stopped improving Maps on iOS incorrect: maps was an apple app that use google maps service. So it was apple that stopped improving maps on Ios

Depends on what the terms of the Apple-Google agreement were. It's possible it did not include the additional features.

correct it is speculation, but from a business perspective I wouldn't see it as beneficial for Google for them to not allow apple (at one time the most popular smart phone worldwide) additional features upon request. Googles bread and butter is search and data collection. But yes there could possibly be a reason.

Re: The Amazing iOS 6 Maps

#258

Post by vm »

cooldeal wrote: post #208
Maascamp wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think Apple gets a pass here. If they are forcing users onto their product it had better be competitive, no matter how hard it is. Microsoft got so such pass with WP7 and that was an entirely new OS/platform!

>Microsoft got so such pass with WP7 and that was an entirely new OS/platform! Well, around tech circles, Apple and Google frequently get more free passes compared to Microsoft. And that's kind of funny because Nokia just put out a comparison with Apple and Google maps to cash in on this hoopla. http://conversations.nokia.com/2012/09/20/benchmarking-mobil...

I'm surprised by how poor this Nokia comparison is. Maybe it highlights the difference of that company vs Apple or Google.

The post focuses on the reach of their maps by showing lots of numbers in a comparison. They would better demonstrate their point with side by side pictures, like the ones from OP of this thread.

Personally, I wonder about the reach of this marketing angle. I take 2 international trips per year. I'm in the same city 330+ days/year. I don't care if the maps work in Columbia or South Africa. I just want it to work well where I live!

Re: The Amazing iOS 6 Maps

#259

Post by enraged_camel »

spitx wrote: post #248
Maascamp wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think Apple gets a pass here. If they are forcing users onto their product it had better be competitive, no matter how hard it is. Microsoft got so such pass with WP7 and that was an entirely new OS/platform!

Jobs would have fired the whole Maps team, en masse. Furiousness is a skill. Tim Cook falls short here.

Actually, Jobs would never have allowed Maps to be released in this state to begin with.

Re: The Amazing iOS 6 Maps

#260

Post by toyg »

cooldeal wrote: post #235
eddieplan9 wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It also reminded me of Apple cutting off Internet Explorer for Mac[1] and went with building Safari. See how that worked out for them (and all devices relying on WebKit). [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Explorer_for_Mac

True, but Safari was based on KHTML which was being worked on for a long time and was pretty comparable(and even in some cases better) than Firefox and IE at the time. Can you say the same about iOS 6 maps and Google Maps?

I'm sure the TomTom deal will change things fairly soon. The agreement was signed three months ago, and by then Maps for iOS 6 was clearly already too advanced to incorporate much of what TomTom can offer. I suppose we'll see updates coming thick and fast from here to Christmas, especially considering the current wave of negativity surrounding the app.

I wouldn't be surprised if Cook decided next week that they might as well buy TomTom outright.

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