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TomTom’s new mapping platform and ecosystem

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Re: TomTom’s new mapping platform and ecosystem

#151

Post by calvinmorrison »

stevage wrote: post #147
Dinux wrote: post #142

I don't understand the 'everything was better when it wasn't google' mentality that is so often found in these threads. My dad used to work at TomTom right here in the Netherlands. They used to be a fun and innovative company to work for. When it became apparent they entered a multibillion dollar business it was all about the money. As someone who used TomTom before other options became available I can honestly say t…

Google Maps works for certain, pretty common, use cases. That doesn't mean it works for everyone or for every business. Monopolies are bad, near monopolies slightly less bad. And especially when it comes to a platform that significantly influences how millions of people perceive the world around them. (Source: making web maps is my career. I don't touch Google Maps professionally but use it a lot personally.)

The power of an app to route people down an old farm road rather than taking the pike to me, is enough. I feel bad for those who live there because its about 30 seconds faster to on the highway

Re: TomTom’s new mapping platform and ecosystem

#152

Post by throwaway744678 »

gambiting wrote: post #66
fork-while-fork wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google maps with Android Auto does auto-learn popular/regular destinations and suggests them at appropriate times. It works pretty well.

Does it? I have never seen it do it. Maybe it's only region-specific?

I believe it does when you set your home and work addresses

Re: TomTom’s new mapping platform and ecosystem

#153

Post by bambax »

kleiba wrote: post #3

For the youngens here on HN: TomTom was once one of the leading manufacturers of GPS navigation systems for cars - purchased as an accessory that was stuck to the wind screen. This was in a time before every car had a screen built in, and before everyone had a smart phone with Google Maps in their pocket. I guess that product is a prime example for becoming irrelevant by society progressing. I actually still use an o…

I have a TomTom GPS device for my motorbike that I purchased 8 years ago. The build quality is excellent, but the software is abysmal. It takes over two minutes to boot (!); changing the type of route takes maybe 5 or 6 touches; search results are not ordered by proximity, and offers at first suggestions, destinations that are thousands of miles away (on a motorcyle!); updating the maps means connecting it to a PC and downloading a huge, horrible app; etc.

Re: TomTom’s new mapping platform and ecosystem

#154

Post by andyjohnson0 »

Semaphor wrote: post #7
Andrew_nenakhov wrote: post #6

OpenStreetMap is the second most-important resource on the Internet, after the Wikipedia.

And if you are on android, there’s a super simple and easy, lightly gamified, app to help improve their data: https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/StreetComplete

Thanks for mentioning this! I've installed it and it looks like an interesting app.

Re: TomTom’s new mapping platform and ecosystem

#155

Post by diydsp »

rapind wrote: post #138
gorbachev wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's definitely why I stopped using TomTom. Like gambiting, I really liked their product. They were compact, fast and the UX was great. But Google Maps is free.

> But Google Maps is free. We need a new alternative word for "free" when it comes to advertising companies. Something short to say "the cost is too abstract and indirect to understand fully or describe, but does impact society at large". Maybe "free-ish"?

Hear, hear! One suggestion: costs a drop of blood.

Re: TomTom’s new mapping platform and ecosystem

#156

Post by Dinux »

calvinmorrison wrote: post #151
stevage wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google Maps works for certain, pretty common, use cases. That doesn't mean it works for everyone or for every business. Monopolies are bad, near monopolies slightly less bad. And especially when it comes to a platform that significantly influences how millions of people perceive the world around them. (Source: making web maps is my career. I don't touch Google Maps professionally but use it a lot personally.)

The power of an app to route people down an old farm road rather than taking the pike to me, is enough. I feel bad for those who live there because its about 30 seconds faster to on the highway

But thats not whats happening. Google Maps, Waze, Apple Maps etc all prefer certain paths over others. I can take a shortcut home which saved me about 5 minutes and potential traffic jams, and Google Maps will never suggest it, unless I deliberately drive down that road.

Re: TomTom’s new mapping platform and ecosystem

#157

Post by Semaphor »

smusamashah wrote: post #100
Semaphor wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And if you are on android, there’s a super simple and easy, lightly gamified, app to help improve their data: https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/StreetComplete

There is also Every Door which i find less annoying. Street complete puts lots of noise on the map. I don't know the answer to my selected questions all the time. Every door lets you fill in whatever you can. https://every-door.app/

While that is nice, it’s a lot more cluttered. That may be useful when you specifically go out to do mapping, but Street Complete is far easier to do on the side while going somewhere for different reasons.

edit: I will keep both though ;)

Re: TomTom’s new mapping platform and ecosystem

#158

Post by afknewsagency »

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #107
helsinkiandrew wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Their revenue from 2009-2022 tells the story: https://companiesmarketcap.com/tomtom/revenue/

I do recall they provided the maps when Apple Maps was launched, but I can imagine Apple took over and built their own after that.

Check the licenses in the about section on the maps app and see... and also, go use Streetside, Bing Maps' version of streetview, and see what cars gathered those images!

Re: TomTom’s new mapping platform and ecosystem

#159

Post by Aachen »

shp0ngle wrote: post #143
habi wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every item on OSM (node, way, relation) is versioned and has a history. If you can link us to your changes I’m happy to try to help find out why your change was reverted. Usually that’s only the case for blatant errors, copying from proprietary maps (ehm, Google Maps) or vandalism. We’re trying to be a friendly bunch, and I’d like to get you back as an editor.

I don’t want to ask here (don’t want to mix up my identities), where should I actually ask? In what forum

https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Contact_channels any of these (some may be more or less active). If you're looking for a forum specifically, the answer is https://community.openstreetmap.org

Re: TomTom’s new mapping platform and ecosystem

#160

Post by wongarsu »

kleiba wrote: post #3

For the youngens here on HN: TomTom was once one of the leading manufacturers of GPS navigation systems for cars - purchased as an accessory that was stuck to the wind screen. This was in a time before every car had a screen built in, and before everyone had a smart phone with Google Maps in their pocket. I guess that product is a prime example for becoming irrelevant by society progressing. I actually still use an o…

Not necessarily irrelevant, just a lot more niche. For example there's still a market for navigation systems for the trucking industry that consider factors like vehicle height in route selection.
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