Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

thenextweb.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

181–190 of 308 posts

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

#181

Post by Tycho »

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…

For me the main issue is StreetView integration. Apple wont have that any time soon.

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

#182

Post by Terretta »

mikeash wrote: post #79
ajdecon wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

On the other hand, the earlier Maps (Google data on iOS Once there's an alternative, it's a flame-debate, where each side gives itself a pass. Controversy drives page views. Nobody wrote about how bridges mapped to 3D terrain in Google Earth, but we get a Tumbler of iOS 6 3D bridges examples.

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

#183

Post by drivebyacct2 »

IgorPartola wrote: post #132

How many startups just said "ah fuck it!" now that Google Maps is back on iOS? Back when Apple removed Google maps I thought there would be four stages to this fiasco: 1. Apple Maps are introduced and nobody likes them. Google Maps are nixed and some bullshit reason is given for not letting them back into the ecosystem for a while. 2. A bunch of people see an opportunity to create something that Apple will buy. They…

I don't see how a startup could produce much of value at this scale in that timeframe.

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

#184

Post by pkamb »

walru wrote: post #122
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.

The best is the Keywords field that cannot be longer than "100 bytes", doesn't validate your character count until you submit the from, is unclear about comma/space separated values, and disregards pluralization.

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

#185

Post by zspade »

Alaskan005 wrote: post #37
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.

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.

Thinking long term, it seems to me shutting down the entire maps division may prevent the possible reality you have just presented from ever occurring.

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

#186

Post by drivebyacct2 »

I guess I'm still stuck in the same mentality that I'm surprised at but I'm always surprised to see what gets iOS users excited these days or what problems it has: fundamental search issues the AppStore, the amazement of Google Maps being "fluid" (ironic given the tech powering it [based on koush's speculation]), lusting for the simplicity of the Google theme versus the plasticy-clear-bubbled iOS.

Then again I'm also blown away by the people here who want to:

1. Say that Apple had time left on their contract with Google. And simultaneously say that the solution for Apple Maps is soon and is easily solved with more data partnerships.

2. That Apple "won" here. I'm still at a lost as to how that is. Especially given the lack of an Intent system in iOS, Apple Maps is about to be relegated to a really poor position for Apple, especially given that users = more data = better maps.

These are the things that Android 2.x was criticized for. I put up with such incompleteness because I was getting something open source, powerful and customizable. It was a compromise. I don't think Android users are compromising anymore, despite the constant implication from users here that only poor people buy Android, or that Android is "full of ads", or that Google is losing interest in Android or just the constant implications that Android is still sub-par to iOS. I just don't get it when I read these threads.

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

#187

Post by erikpukinskis »

brianpan wrote: post #93
jgw wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a really, really hard time seeing Apple's map fiasco as a win for Apple.

It may be a win in a similar way that the Chrome browser was a win. Google kicked browser competition into high gear in terms of performance and ACID compliance when they launched Chrome. Apple Maps may have had a similar effect. I hate to use "killer app" but a great GPS makes the phone a more valuable device. I still have a standalone GPS in the car which we will definitely not need once we all upgrade to phones wi…

[Did] Google [have] the ability pre-iOS 6 to do turn-by-turn?

The original Maps app was written by Apple and consumed data licensed from (and presumably hosted by?) Google. Apple wanted turn-by-turn on iOS, but the data required was not part of their original deal with Google. Google was willing to license it, provided that Apple give Google additional data: presumably anonymized data about where users were for Google to use to provide better AI. Although it's quite possible Google wanted better hooks to serve ads as well. They couldn't reach a deal, so Apple went their own way.

Apple and Google were certainly technically capable of building Google-backed turn-by-turn into iOS 6, if not much earlier.

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

#188

Post by drivebyacct2 »

coob wrote: post #166
andybak wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you're mistaken. They are on Android so it seems odd they wouldn't be. The ability to zoom to arbitrary levels with no pixellation seems to imply it most definitely is vector.

On iOS it appears they're a mixture of bitmap tiles and vector text. I definitely see pixelation of roads at certain zoom levels.

They're not infinitely vectors. They're still tiles. If they were to use the zoomed in tile, when zoomed out, even with vectors, you'd get something unrecognizable.

It's the same reason that fonts and icons are brought up when people espouse the "vectors will save everything"! They do a lot of nice things but for something like Google Maps, I can't imagine how they'd implement "true vectors" in a practical phone-applicable way.

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

#189

Post by [deleted] »

IgorPartola wrote: post #132

How many startups just said "ah fuck it!" now that Google Maps is back on iOS? Back when Apple removed Google maps I thought there would be four stages to this fiasco: 1. Apple Maps are introduced and nobody likes them. Google Maps are nixed and some bullshit reason is given for not letting them back into the ecosystem for a while. 2. A bunch of people see an opportunity to create something that Apple will buy. They…

[deleted]

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

#190

Post by hnriot »

Terretta wrote: post #172
wes-exp wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed! This happens with my own app as well! Apparently the app title , even when an exact match to your search query, is no longer considered important. If there is one thing Apple truly fails at, it is search.

I believe that was a deliberate tweak in response to the throngs of spam apps titling themselves by the key search terms of popular apps -- and the throngs of users complaining when they idiotically bought one of the spam apps instead of the real app.

while that might be true, it's the wrong way to solve the problem.
Post reply on HN