Nokia Maps give one the ability to download maps locally to the phone. Do either Google Maps or iOS Maps have that feature?
Due to iOS Maps using vector tiles once it's been loaded you can switch it into offline mode and the tiles will persist.
Google Maps becomes the App Store’s most popular free app in 7 hours
71–80 of 308 posts
Re: Google Maps becomes the App Store’s most popular free app in 7 hours
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm sure the android part cares about how many people buy android and how cool it is compared to iOS. Apple use their apps as a competitive advantage and Google aren't. Itunes supported Apple podcast & music players would help android. Obviously Google maps helps iOS. I guess what I'm asking is "Is this helping maps at the expense of Android?"
The answer is clearly yes - this largely removes one reason why someone might prefer Android over iOS. Hard to say how big the effect is, though.
Especially since Apple are clearly working to improve their own maps. If/when they hit (or near) parity, they'll have the massive advantage of being bundled.
At least before, they were maintaining a long term position as the major maps app. If they lose 90% of these users when in a year or two when Apple improve their maps, it would just have been a wasted opportunity to sell androids, especially the high end ones.
Re: Google Maps becomes the App Store’s most popular free app in 7 hours
#73Re: Google Maps becomes the App Store’s most popular free app in 7 hours
#74Re: Google Maps becomes the App Store’s most popular free app in 7 hours
#75App ranking is also a function of momentum.. while it's great Google Maps has risen so quickly, let's not make this more than what it is.
Were Bing Maps and Nokia maps #1 soon after they launched in the Apple app store, too? (or ever?)
Chrome was, and no one was really asking for it beforehand.
Re: Google Maps becomes the App Store’s most popular free app in 7 hours
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do we really need to rehash this again?
Well, people on this site don't seem to mind rehashing how great Apple is, ad infinitum. So no, I don't see a problem with rehashing this a few times.
Honestly, I'd say there's a much higher anti-Apple/pro-Google sentiment than there used to be. I've been downvoted heavily for point negative things out about Google. The tech zeitgeist moves onwards.
Re: Google Maps becomes the App Store’s most popular free app in 7 hours
#77Re: Google Maps becomes the App Store’s most popular free app in 7 hours
#78Edit: somehow I screwed up my response, should be a response to @kjackson2012. Apple's main issues are with their location information from TomTom. If apple is able to partner with a company with better data, these types of problems should not be nearly as bad. Here's where Apple's maps product is better... The maps are vector based so there is not such a huge dependence on a data connection. I live near the pine bar…
If you want to try out some other vector based map system there's Open StreetMap. I have no idea about how functional the iPhone apps are but OsmAnd for Android is able to cache all map data for Sweden in 200MB.
It is then able to do routing on that data for both walking and going by car, both from search and random positions pointed at on the map. Not to mention that it has information about resturants so that you can plan where to stop for lunch when going on longer trips, all of which without a data connection.
Re: Google Maps becomes the App Store’s most popular free app in 7 hours
#79Earlier quoted context omitted.
Wow, what did people do BEFORE a smartphone! It's a wonder a human being ever found a hospital before Google saved the human race from it's own helplessness!
The problem is that a wrong map is a lot worse than no map. If you don't have a map, you might ask a local for directions or take a cab if you're in a hurry to get somewhere that you don't know the location for. If your map is wrong, you are more likely to actually end up in the wrong place -- and then become that much more confused and make poor decisions while trying to find your way without it.
I don't understand why people don't get this. It's not a matter of being able to get places without our smartphones. I'm sure we can all handle that just fine. It's a matter of knowing that your smartphone claims to know how to get there but is wrong.
The proper response to bad search results is not to talk about how you can still manage just fine with paper maps, unless you're implicitly proposing that we give up on the electronic maps completely.
Re: Google Maps becomes the App Store’s most popular free app in 7 hours
#80Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well, no worries then. A few thousand people who don't get to hospitals or who end up in dangerous situations is not LOOOOOONG term thinking and can safely be ignored.
Wow, what did people do BEFORE a smartphone! It's a wonder a human being ever found a hospital before Google saved the human race from it's own helplessness!
While I understand what you're implying, you need to realize people depend on these devices. If they didn't exist, yes, people would find other ways (as they have in the past).