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Google Maps becomes the App Store’s most popular free app in 7 hours

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Re: Google Maps becomes the App Store’s most popular free app in 7 hours

#121

Post by jonknee »

ionforce wrote: post #115
kjackson2012 wrote: post #33

Frankly, Tim Cook should shut down the entire Apple Maps division. Who in their right mind is going to use Apple Maps at this point? Try searching "Pier 39 San Francisco". The query can't be any more specific, and it's the most iconic location for tourists, and Apple Maps will bring you to a pretty shady area of town, only a mile or two away from Hunter's Point, one of the more violent areas of SF.

Apple Maps is the native mapping framework. So for developers who don't want to wander very far, Apple will be their first choice. And Apple will be Apple's first choice for Apple apps.

> Apple Maps is the native mapping framework. So for developers who don't want to wander very far, Apple will be their first choice. And Apple will be Apple's first choice for Apple apps.

I think developers will care more about better data than about the time it will take to import a framework into their X Code project. It's very simple to integrate either type of map.

Re: Google Maps becomes the App Store’s most popular free app in 7 hours

#122

Post by walru »

tharris0101 wrote: post #91

Sort of off-topic and I've harped on this before, but when I search "google maps" in the app store, it's the fifth search result! As a developer in the App Store, I really hope they do something to fix the abysmal searches in it.

As a developer I couldn't agree more.. the App Store is currently an unmitigated mess.

Re: Google Maps becomes the App Store’s most popular free app in 7 hours

#123

Post by alayne »

w1ntermute wrote: post #12
bigdubs wrote: post #10

Earlier 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.

There's a big difference between constructive criticism of genuine problems (such as issues with Apple Maps searching) where you may learn something and the "you're holding it wrong" kinds of comments. I'd go to reddit if I wanted to read a bunch of dumb repeated jokes.

Re: Google Maps becomes the App Store’s most popular free app in 7 hours

#124

Post by [deleted] »

bstar77 wrote: post #50

Edit: 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…

[deleted]

Re: Google Maps becomes the App Store’s most popular free app in 7 hours

#125

Post by drzaiusapelord »

hpagey wrote: post #13

Actually I think Apple won here. Google was refusing to release a turn by turn direction update to their apps. By developing an Apple Map App with turn by turn, they kind of forced GooG to provide it on iOS platform. Also, it is very difficult for google to ignore ios users.

Agreed. Google should have kept maps as an android-only product. Whatever ill-will Apple has gotten over maps is now gone because "I can just install google maps for free now!"

Re: Google Maps becomes the App Store’s most popular free app in 7 hours

#126

Post by takeda64 »

seiji wrote: post #22
hpagey wrote: post #13

Actually I think Apple won here. Google was refusing to release a turn by turn direction update to their apps. By developing an Apple Map App with turn by turn, they kind of forced GooG to provide it on iOS platform. Also, it is very difficult for google to ignore ios users.

My first thought was along the same lines. What if this was a long con to get Google to release what Apple wanted for free? Any bets on if Apple Maps is gone in iOS 7 and google maps becomes the system mapping provider again?

I guess you are confused. Google was ready to provide those features in exchange for their branding and also ability to display ads. Apple did not agree to that, and now Google has that option as being 3rd party app, which iOS users now need to explicitly install.

No one really won here, but if I really would have to pick up a winner, it would be Google.

Re: Google Maps becomes the App Store’s most popular free app in 7 hours

#127

Post by technoslut »

kjackson2012 wrote: post #102
Alaskan005 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No wonder he is the CEO and you aren't. Think LOOOOONG term, in a few years Apple will catch Google for the most part (hello AAPL bank accounts and increase of usage!) and Apple will not depend on a major competitor for a crucial aspect of the mobile world. Google is the loser, despite Apple having a few growing pains.

A good CEO knows when to stop throwing good money after bad. Apple will NEVER reach the search domain expertise of Google, and Maps is too valuable to let turn into a complete debacle, as Apple has learned. We have given Apple so much money THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO WITH IT. They have $120B in the bank, more cash than any other company has ever had. They can buy very famous companies for cash, like Cisco, Dell, Fa…

>Apple will NEVER reach the search domain expertise of Google, and Maps is too valuable to let turn into a complete debacle, as Apple has learned.

How can you possibly say that? How was Android 1.0 compared to what it is today? Or Windows 1.0? In your view no one should start anything if they aren't immediately good at it.

What should be questioned is Apple's dedication to Mpas. If they're not interested in creating a high-quality mapping solution then they should give up.

What Apple should do is buy a company to provide the mapping solution for them. The same goes for Nuance. Core technologies of your OS should not be left to a third party.

Re: Google Maps becomes the App Store’s most popular free app in 7 hours

#128

Post by warfangle »

bstar77 wrote: post #50

Edit: 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…

Google Maps have been vector based for a while.

At least, on Android.

Re: Google Maps becomes the App Store’s most popular free app in 7 hours

#129

Post by dkokelley »

tharris0101 wrote: post #91

Sort of off-topic and I've harped on this before, but when I search "google maps" in the app store, it's the fifth search result! As a developer in the App Store, I really hope they do something to fix the abysmal searches in it.

My best results for search appear when the App Store auto suggests terms that others have entered. So "docs to..." suggests "Documents to Go(r) by DataViz" or something of the sort. I think that Apple could learn a thing or two from Google's search-intent capabilities.

Re: Google Maps becomes the App Store’s most popular free app in 7 hours

#130

Post by leephillips »

brianpan wrote: post #86
kjackson2012 wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, you're wrong. It's not with the data. It's with Apple's ability to search. Like I said below, look up "Pier 39 San Francisco". This is a dead simple query, extremely specific, and they point you to a really bad area of SF. This isn't Tom Tom data, it's how Apple resolves this query to something useful. Search is Google's domain expertise. Apple needs to basically start from scratch and figure out how to create a…

Surely you agree that your example is a non-standard address. The things are more important to get right: postal addresses, searches for company names, airports, schools, searches for intersections. Of course you want to get the other things right like, parks (what's the pinpoint location of a park?) and things like pier 39. But those errors don't make Apple Maps a non-starter. I've been using it in the Bay Area with…

'Apple has in the past been known to make things with the ultimate attention to detail and things that "just work"'

I don't know why people continue to believe this. Apple has released versions of the Finder with amateurish bugs that delete files[1] and versions of Mail that randomly delete messages[2]. Several versions of Mail on iPhone send hundreds of copies of a message when emailing a link from Safari[3].

The Maps fiasco is not a departure from software excellence on the part of Apple, but just more of what we should expect by now: shiny stuff that doesn't work.

[1]http://tomkarpik.com/articles/massive-data-loss-bug-in-leopa... [2]http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=12758081&... [3]http://lee-phillips.org/iphoneUpgradeWarning-4-2-1/

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