Maybe Google should pivot and try this whole maps thing out.
Google Maps becomes the App Store’s most popular free app in 7 hours
141–150 of 308 posts
Re: Google Maps becomes the App Store’s most popular free app in 7 hours
#142Edit: 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 apple is able to partner with a company with better data, these types of problems should not be nearly as bad. There is none. As far as I know, there are two major providers for map data. One is TeleAtlas, which is now owned by TomTom. The other one is Navtec from the US. TeleAtlas is considered slightly better in terms of quality, as far as I know. Google Maps used to use a combination of both providers. Howeve…
Navteq is owned by Nokia, btw.
Re: Google Maps becomes the App Store’s most popular free app in 7 hours
#143Now Apple has major map services from all mobile platforms with a full-featured Google solution. Plus they have an in-house solution that will become better over time. Removing an image-based Google Maps app developed by Apple from iOS was a great decision.
Re: Google Maps becomes the App Store’s most popular free app in 7 hours
#144Earlier quoted context omitted.
Maybe Google will come to the rescue.
Their search on the Google Play store isn't that great, though they now have a feature where what they auto-suggest when typing your query is usually what you want (for larger apps like netflix, ebay, etc)
The search of Google Play store is atrocious, much worse than this.
Re: Google Maps becomes the App Store’s most popular free app in 7 hours
#145Earlier quoted context omitted.
Apple Maps also doesn't handle small spelling mistakes (transposed letters) well. That's been one of the most annoying things.
Having played with a toy geolocation feature detector for text, I can safely say it's extremely hard to do well. My first attempt is inspired by Peter Norvig's spelling corrector using a corpus built from the places2k.txt file, but it gets confused when the words are transposed. My guess is that Google is using some sort of n-gram based approach for maps and search, where as their little sidebar map is similar to wha…
> Try searching in Google for "San Francisco" versus "Francisco San."
On the other hand, that's not a mistake you can make, because "San Francisco" in the minds of people really is "Sanfrancisco", a single word. Why would anybody spell "San Francisco" as "Francisco San"? In fact Google should differentiate heavily between these 2 terms, as they aren't similar at all.
Google also does a lot of other neat things, like translations for city names. Searching on google.com for "Bucuresti" (my town) brings up the sidebar for "Bucharest".
And on GMaps, I'm never afraid of using "str", "strada", "soseaua", "sos" which are different Romanian words and abbreviations for "street". The results aren't the same in these cases (nor they should be actually) but because Google also searches within the addresses of businesses it's usually able to give me an accurate answer to what I mean.
Re: Google Maps becomes the App Store’s most popular free app in 7 hours
#146Edit: 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.
The new Google Maps app for iOS is also vector-based.
Re: Google Maps becomes the App Store’s most popular free app in 7 hours
#147Earlier 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…
> money is of secondary or tertiary importance here
no, the CEO has a fiduciary obligation to the shareholders to increase the market value of the company. If that is through implementing better features then fine, but don't think for a second they would do it for the "greater good" or some principled and un-business like reason.
Things evolve over time, you have to give it a bit of running room to see how things shape up before you simply label it a failure. Besides, competition breeds innovation and innovation is great for the consumers.
Re: Google Maps becomes the App Store’s most popular free app in 7 hours
#148Actually 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!"
I disagree, Google's long term play isn't to "own" a platform and have everyone live in it (a la apple/microsoft). Google is an internet company and it's overall strategy is to have everyone on the internet. Because if you are on the internet, chances are you will use a Google product (by choice).
Google doesn't care about iphone vs android. Google only cares that you are using the internet. An iphone/ipad is an expensive device for well off people. Androids don't have to be and less expensive products broadens the market. A market which when broader, is going to be owned by Google.
Making google maps a iOS product only encourages more people to use the internet and thus google.
Re: Google Maps becomes the App Store’s most popular free app in 7 hours
#149Earlier quoted context omitted.
I highly doubt Google Maps has reached its peak. You're constantly hearing about new things being added, such as the Photosphere feature in Android 4.2 letting people take 360 deg indoor pictures and attach them to buildings on Google Maps, or doing an underwater "Street View" at the Great Barrier Reef. Just a few weeks ago, 3D structures appeared on Google Maps for my parents' house in the suburban Midwest. Google M…
Oh i agree with you, i simply posed these questions to counter the claim that "Apple Maps" will catch up with Google Maps in a few years. There is a lot to it and to make such a blanket claim with nothing to back it up is pretty weak. The questions were meant to point this out.
By the same token, stating that Apple will never catch them is pretty weak too. in fact this whole line of thinking is pretty weak. It really is a school yard "my dad is bigger than your dad..." style of reasoning.
Re: Google Maps becomes the App Store’s most popular free app in 7 hours
#150How come Apple allowed this app? Isn't it duplicate functionality of the iPhone? I guess everyone is equal, but some are more equal than others...
Two words: transit overlays.