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Google Maps' advantage over Apple Maps

blog.telemapics.com

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Re: Google Maps' advantage over Apple Maps

#151

Post by stcredzero »

kristianc wrote: post #149
stcredzero wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bought it. It was an MVP. The M stands for Minimal. The V stands for Viable. I still have it and note that Maps in iOS 3 over EDGE is more responsive and slicker looking than Maps in iOS 5.

Oh, so when it suits your argument it's an MVP, when it doesn't, it's half baked. Got it.

> Oh, so when it suits your argument it's an MVP, when it doesn't, it's half baked. Got it.

Nice straw man and shoving words into another's mouth.

When the product suits one's purpose, it's viable. When it doesn't, it's half baked. When the original iPhone was released, the bar for viable was much lower. Other smartphones were a mess, UX-wise. Just fixing the UX with a smaller feature set won over a mainstream audience.

Now, the bar for viable is much higher, and it carries the expectations of a Maps application that works at least as well as Google Maps for iOS.

Customer expectations change over time. Pretending that they don't for the sake of argument is either foolish or dishonest.

Re: Google Maps' advantage over Apple Maps

#152

Post by stcredzero »

corporalagumbo wrote: post #102

I remember reading a while ago about how Apple's reliance on Google for mapping was a massive problem for the company. Something about how in the future all ad revenue will derive from location-based recommendations. If that's true, then there was no other acceptable solution for Apple than to at some point simply bite the bullet and roll out an in-house mapping service. Continuing dependence on Google here simply po…

> All things considered, given how complex maps must be to implement, it seems like Apple did a pretty good job for day one.

I don't know the particulars of the agreement they had with Google and other providers, but couldn't Apple have just rolled out their own driving directions application with restaurant and location search services but kept Google on for the time being? This would have allowed them to launch, then roll out a fully fledged Maps application of their own.

Re: Google Maps' advantage over Apple Maps

#153

Post by snogglethorpe »

brudgers wrote: post #77

I've come to the conclusion that Apple is willing to bet that mediocrity in maps is not really a deal breaker in the segment of the mobile electronics market in which they operate...or rather continued mediocrity will have little effect on sales. Nobody, including Google, consistently delivers functional map data to mobile devices every time, at least not in the Atlanta metro area. I travel there with some frequency…

> Nobody, including Google, consistently delivers functional map data to mobile devices every time

Sure, nobody's perfect. There's so much data that problems inevitably slip through.

But Google's maps are at least "good enough" in most important markets. Apple's are not. That is a problem.

Re: Google Maps' advantage over Apple Maps

#154

Post by corporalagumbo »

stcredzero wrote: post #152
corporalagumbo wrote: post #102

I remember reading a while ago about how Apple's reliance on Google for mapping was a massive problem for the company. Something about how in the future all ad revenue will derive from location-based recommendations. If that's true, then there was no other acceptable solution for Apple than to at some point simply bite the bullet and roll out an in-house mapping service. Continuing dependence on Google here simply po…

> All things considered, given how complex maps must be to implement, it seems like Apple did a pretty good job for day one. I don't know the particulars of the agreement they had with Google and other providers, but couldn't Apple have just rolled out their own driving directions application with restaurant and location search services but kept Google on for the time being? This would have allowed them to launch, th…

Maybe. Who really knows why Apple does anything?

Re: Google Maps' advantage over Apple Maps

#155

Post by vsl »

martian wrote: post #133
ImprovedSilence wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually found this article to be the first one that didn't just criticize Apple, but actually made suggestions about how they should go about fixing it. It was rather interesting for someone like me who has no experience in map making, to see how much is really involved in digital cartography. edit: on a related note, I always took google maps for granted, but now that I realize how fantastic of an effort it must…

The Atlantic recently wrote up a nice piece on Google Maps. It explores just how complex the whole operation is, how many humans and machines are involved in making Google's maps... http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/09/how-go...

That article is a bit infamous for its over-the-top advertisement value by now.

See e.g. http://blog.telemapics.com/?p=394

Re: Google Maps' advantage over Apple Maps

#156

Post by archagon »

saurik wrote: post #75
dvanduzer wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1) Which companies succeeded at "getting social to work?" Facebook? 2) Okay. I've tried to buy large numbers of servers from Apple in the past. They really aren't server people, it's true. I was trying to buy these servers because I was working for a company whose primary business is searching through petabytes of data. Apple was and still is kicking the shit out of everyone with Spotlight. 3) I'm not saying there ha…

1) A more relevant example in this case might be Spotify in specific, but sure: Facebook. Do you honestly disagree? If so, I am pretty certain you are in the minority. In a list of 7 reasons a reporter from the Huffington Post "left iTunes for Spotify", #7 was "Spotify gets social" (with specific contrast to Ping). http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/18/left-itunes-for-spo... 4) I currently host jailbreakme.com, bu…

saurik, thank you so much for responding in this thread. Your answers are very insightful. In regards to 4, I've always assumed that to an extent, Apple tolerates jailbreakers and doesn't put as much effort as they could into fixing the exploits (unless they're critical, like the PDF one.) What do you think?

Re: Google Maps' advantage over Apple Maps

#157

Post by saurik »

archagon wrote: post #156
saurik wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1) A more relevant example in this case might be Spotify in specific, but sure: Facebook. Do you honestly disagree? If so, I am pretty certain you are in the minority. In a list of 7 reasons a reporter from the Huffington Post "left iTunes for Spotify", #7 was "Spotify gets social" (with specific contrast to Ping). http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/18/left-itunes-for-spo... 4) I currently host jailbreakme.com, bu…

saurik, thank you so much for responding in this thread. Your answers are very insightful. In regards to 4, I've always assumed that to an extent, Apple tolerates jailbreakers and doesn't put as much effort as they could into fixing the exploits (unless they're critical, like the PDF one.) What do you think?

Apple has a schedule by which they fix bugs; if an exploit is not "dangerous" (such as a remote web browser vulnerability), they do not seem to alter their schedule to fix it, even if it helps people jailbreak: they treat it like any other bug.

As an example, 5.1.1 was subject to Rocky Racoon for many months throughout the beta releases of 6.0. This exploit requires physical access to an unlocked (as in, not at the lock screen: PIN code already entered) device; once the device is unlocked, you can just use it, getting access to e-mails, the address book... whatever you'd like: it isn't really a serious security hazard to also be able to jailbreak it.

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