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The Amazing iOS 6 Maps

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Re: The Amazing iOS 6 Maps

#351

Post by rmc »

rburhum wrote: post #155
rmc wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OpenStreetMap would have more accurate information about the locations of towns etc.

OSM doesn't do elevation. OSM doesn't do geocoding. OSM doesn't do routing. OSM doesn't do 3D. OSM doesn't have a cleaned up dataset of Points of Interest. I love OSM and I use it every day - but I know what it does, what it is good for and what it is not meant to do. Getting a list of towns for the entire world is easy. Solving the issues in the listed by the OP's tumbler requires data that OSM does not have.

OSM doesn't do elevation

True OSM doesn't have that, but there are some public domain datasets available for that, e.g. SRTM.

OSM doesn't do geocoding.

True. OSM is just a database, you'd have to make your own "address ↔ position" algorithm. Which is sorta hard.

OSM doesn't do routing.

OSM is just the database. You can (and people have) make a routing engine on top of that (e.g. http://map.project-osrm.org/ http://maps.cloudmade.com/ ). You can do very specific types of routing (e.g. I figured out how to cross Dublin without passing a pub http://www.kindle-maps.com/blog/how-to-walk-across-dublin-wi... ).

OSM doesn't do 3D.

True.

OSM doesn't have a cleaned up dataset of Points of Interest.

Yes and no. OSM is a database and has lots of Points of Interest, e.g. here's a Starbucks in London ( http://www.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/node/488443269 ), so it's trivial for someone making a map app to make a database of PoIs that an application can look up.

Re: The Amazing iOS 6 Maps

#353

Post by jronald »

astral303 wrote: post #209
mavhc wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless you want, say, security updates. You're also forced to buy a new phone/device if you want them after x years too, where x is a low number

Where X is a number considerably higher than for Android. Look at the number of years the 3GS has survived and compare that with your average Android phone not getting latest OS updates or any security updates. But I agree that anyone buying a new phone is stuck with iOS 6.

My Motorola droid is able to run Android 4.1 - not a super snappy experience, but it does run. It released in october of 2009. Every feature in 4.1 works on it. I don't have the "fun" apple is pulling with a guessing game on what features work on what phones: http://www.apple.com/ios/feature-availability/

Also, while the 3GS (June 09) is getting ios6, the original ipad (April 2010) is not. Apple will abandon their equipment just as fast if it suits them.

Re: The Amazing iOS 6 Maps

#354

Post by fpgeek »

ryanpers wrote: post #341
fpgeek wrote: post #321

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First, I'm saying that the number you cite is not the true cost of the phone because it does not include the subsidy that AT&T pays the manufacturer on your behalf. Second, I'm saying that the true cost of an iPhone is usually greater than they true cost of the typical Android phone they're matched up against. In AT&T's case the apparent cost of ownership looks the same because they pay larger subsidies to Apple than…

The subsidy rate is the same regardless of which phone you get on AT&T/vz. This means the logical course of action is to choose the phone that gives you the most backend subsidy amount, which happens to be the iPhones. Apple gets paid handsomely and a lot more than android makers. Therefore the best deal is an iPhone. The argument you SHOULD have made is "tmobile lets you sign up without a contract at a discount with…

The frontend subsidy rate isn't the same, at least according to AT&T's stated online prices. The price difference for any on-contract vs off-contract iPhone is $450. I couldn't find another new phone (Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry, ...) with a on-contract vs off-contract price difference of over $400. Most were $350 or less.

Re: The Amazing iOS 6 Maps

#355

Post by vijayr »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #243
Tichy wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As I said, I don't think that kind of thing would apply to a Maps app by Google. It is for businesses who use maps for something else. For example if you show a map on your homepage with all the locations of your stores. The browser makers (Mozilla & Co) don't pay either if somebody opens the Google maps web site.

You have completely missed the big picture here. Google charges 'volume' users of their maps API, that is part of the way they pay for it. The map "application" on iOS was a client that called Google Maps APIs and displayed the results. It generates a lot of volume, and Apple was going to have to start paying for that this year. you wrote: "For example if you show a map on your homepage with all the locations of your…

I don't know what happened between these two huge companies. But it is actually good that their relationship (with respect to maps) ended. Apple's maps suck today, and will probably suck for a year or two - but I'm sure they'll continue to improve. Few years from now, customers will have more options - right now, it is Google maps and Google maps only and the closest competitor is Bing, which isn't half as good as Google maps. Having more options is good, so no company can hike rates crazily like Google did.

Re: The Amazing iOS 6 Maps

#356

Post by aw3c2 »

rmc wrote: post #351
rburhum wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OSM doesn't do elevation. OSM doesn't do geocoding. OSM doesn't do routing. OSM doesn't do 3D. OSM doesn't have a cleaned up dataset of Points of Interest. I love OSM and I use it every day - but I know what it does, what it is good for and what it is not meant to do. Getting a list of towns for the entire world is easy. Solving the issues in the listed by the OP's tumbler requires data that OSM does not have.

OSM doesn't do elevation True OSM doesn't have that, but there are some public domain datasets available for that, e.g. SRTM. OSM doesn't do geocoding. True. OSM is just a database, you'd have to make your own "address ↔ position" algorithm. Which is sorta hard. OSM doesn't do routing. OSM is just the database. You can (and people have) make a routing engine on top of that (e.g. http://map.project-osrm.org/ http://ma…

You can easily do geocoding with the OSM data. Nominatim is ready to deploy software that will let you do both normal and reverse geocoding. It is what openstreetmap.org uses for its search box.

Re: The Amazing iOS 6 Maps

#357

Post by rmc »

aw3c2 wrote: post #356
rmc wrote: post #351

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OSM doesn't do elevation True OSM doesn't have that, but there are some public domain datasets available for that, e.g. SRTM. OSM doesn't do geocoding. True. OSM is just a database, you'd have to make your own "address ↔ position" algorithm. Which is sorta hard. OSM doesn't do routing. OSM is just the database. You can (and people have) make a routing engine on top of that (e.g. http://map.project-osrm.org/ http://ma…

You can easily do geocoding with the OSM data. Nominatim is ready to deploy software that will let you do both normal and reverse geocoding. It is what openstreetmap.org uses for its search box.

And nominatim is open source ( https://github.com/twain47/Nominatim ), so if there's some silly embarassing thing that it gets wrong (like the address of your headquarters), then you can fix it yourself.

Re: The Amazing iOS 6 Maps

#358

Post by finkin1 »

ralfd wrote: post #87
finkin1 wrote: post #34

Can't wait to see the consequences of this. I hope Google delays their iOS maps a while so people can get frustrated with Apple.

I don't understand your giddyness. It would be better if there would be competition instead of Google having a map monopoly.

I'm of the opinion that many things Apple does stifle competition. This is enhanced by the "Apple can do no wrong" bandwagon.

Re: The Amazing iOS 6 Maps

#359

Post by eyko »

LnxPrgr3 wrote: post #323
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!

Anyone here actually used this version of Maps to find someplace yet? Not just to break it and point and laugh, but to actually use it? I can only see 3D maps as a gimmick, so I can't bring myself to care too much that it's broken. I'm slightly surprised that feature shipped in that state, but meh. What I care about: can it get me where I'm going? It's 2012 and I've still found nothing that can do that without occasi…

Here in London you're only guaranteed to find where you're going if you search by postal code. And the directions are quite bad too… through parks and etc.

Re: The Amazing iOS 6 Maps

#360

Post by jasonlotito »

dholowiski wrote: post #205
jasonlotito wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And can be set as the default app so when I click on a location, it takes me to that location without forcing me to jump through hoops in copying the text, and then clicking over and eventually pasting it? You know, like it was in iOS5? Awesome!

That is not a "map" thing that's an IOS thing. If you want to change default applications, better switch to android.

Sorry, you missed the point. Maps has changed. Rather than add a new app in called "Directions" or some such, they dramatically changed the default behavior by removing functionality people depended on. And keep in mind, Apple has a long history of having multiple applications that share the same zone of responsibility.

After 5 versions of the OS, people have what amounts to a beta application without any fallback as of yet. A major feature of the device was discarded.

Kind of hard to put trust in a company that will disregard users like that. And, to be fair, this is not new or surprising. It's one thing to do this on the hardware front. But another thing entirely to do it on the software front.

Keep in mind, this is not the first time they've done this (see the FCP debacle), and when that happened, they caved to customer demand.

So yes, it's a Maps thing.

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