Google Maps becomes the App Store’s most popular free app in 7 hours • Hacker News Board

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

#241

Post by jlgreco » Thu, Dec 13, 2012, 9:00 PM UTC

criley wrote: post #58

Gigablah wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For Google, yes.

How is going from having your app presinstalled on every device and being maintained, for free, by Apple developers to having to write and maintain your own app and put it in the app store a "win"?? There is no win here for Google! Less users (not everyone is going to install it), less data coming in, more money spent, having to hire more dedicated iOS coders inhouse at Google... People have a weird definition of "wi…

Maps on iOS were using Google's data, but the application was not Google's. The only thing Google was getting from that was a licensing fee.

Now they have a mapping application, which means now they have users.

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

#242

Post by BornInTheUSSR » Thu, Dec 13, 2012, 9:09 PM UTC

Apple Maps: Better Product Design Google Maps: Better Data

I'm especially missing dropping pins to share location and search bar tucked up at the top in Google Maps, but Apple's lack of integrated transit directions and putting me in random locations is a no go for city life.

Sigh...

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

#243

Post by dannyr » Thu, Dec 13, 2012, 9:24 PM UTC

eddieroger wrote: post #223

jgon wrote: post #212

Between this and the gmail release recently I think that some interesting times are ahead for apple. After I told my wife that Google Maps was available in the app store she sent me a text with a screenshot of her phone and the message "I'm pretty much using an Android phone!" Her mail client is Gmail, she uses Google maps, and she browses with Chrome. If google went all out with a Google Calendar app I bet she'd use…

I think it's more interesting in what it means for Google. I very deeply live in a Google ecosystem - GMail for personal and work, GCal, etc, but I have an iPhone. The new GMail app isn't magical or anything, but it is good enough for my usecases, now killing any incentive I had to go back to Android. I'm glad they're not using their power for evil, but they seemingly aren't doing anything to make Android even just a…

Seems like you haven't tried Google Now.

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

#244

Post by galadriel » Thu, Dec 13, 2012, 9:24 PM UTC

eddieroger wrote: post #223

jgon wrote: post #212

Between this and the gmail release recently I think that some interesting times are ahead for apple. After I told my wife that Google Maps was available in the app store she sent me a text with a screenshot of her phone and the message "I'm pretty much using an Android phone!" Her mail client is Gmail, she uses Google maps, and she browses with Chrome. If google went all out with a Google Calendar app I bet she'd use…

I think it's more interesting in what it means for Google. I very deeply live in a Google ecosystem - GMail for personal and work, GCal, etc, but I have an iPhone. The new GMail app isn't magical or anything, but it is good enough for my usecases, now killing any incentive I had to go back to Android. I'm glad they're not using their power for evil, but they seemingly aren't doing anything to make Android even just a…

Android is quite more attractive now than iOS, if you are willing to forgive consistency and quality of third party application. Most of Google's own app are absolutely fantastic in quality, and often are better or equal to iOS offering. Where Android actually shines is in how things get integrated to each other. There is no concept of preferred apps as such, and you can make any app default for any function. Share functionality is also awesome, and leads to interesting applications (Like sharing from a Reddit app to Read-it-later app, etc).

I would say if you are not too locked into iOS (having bought tons of iOS apps or something), you should try Android on a Nexus for sometime. Your only downside would be finding good, niche apps. In iOS store, even the smallest developers pay attention to be consistent with Apple's guideline and look good. It also helps that iOS design language has remained mostly the same throughout 5 years. Android finally got a design language last year, but not all developers have been keen to adopt it.

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

#245

Post by dannyr » Thu, Dec 13, 2012, 9:29 PM UTC

netcan wrote: post #34

speg wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think Google cares what platform you're accessing their services from. As long as they get your data, they're happy.

I'm sure the android part cares about how many people buy android and how cool it is compared to iOS. Apple use their apps as a competitive advantage and Google aren't. Itunes supported Apple podcast & music players would help android. Obviously Google maps helps iOS. I guess what I'm asking is "Is this helping maps at the expense of Android?"

You realize that 2-3 years ago, the IPhone was 10+ times better than Android yet people still bought Android phones?

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

#246

Post by coob » Thu, Dec 13, 2012, 9:30 PM UTC

mistermann wrote: post #192

coob wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

…you think Apple are going to stop wanting to improve their maps?

Podcast displays have been broken in a variety of ways since day one and that's a lot simpler to fix than the problems they have in maps.

There haven't been any very public apologies over Podcasts though have there?

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

#247

Post by coob » Thu, Dec 13, 2012, 9:31 PM UTC

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.

I think this happens due to the way the App Store time-weights many metrics. expect it to be top tomorrow.

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

#248

Post by recursive » Thu, Dec 13, 2012, 9:31 PM UTC

jkn wrote: post #231

recursive wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am using an Android device. And I do clearly see pixelation when I zoom in, before the new tiles load. Here's a screenshot I took after I enabled airplane mode: http://i.imgur.com/wc5Ie.png

Which version of the Maps app are you using? I don't see these blurred pixels on my phone, but note that this kind of rendering can also happen with a vector based map: The application has to convert the vector information to a bitmap anyway, for a given zoom level. When zooming in, it is possible that the app shows a zoomed-in version of this bitmap while it is generating a new one in the background. By the way, it…

I'm using 6.14.1.

I answered all the relevant replies individually because I thought that would make those people more likely to see it. Sorry for annoying you.

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

#249

Post by dannyr » Thu, Dec 13, 2012, 9:32 PM UTC

jrochkind1 wrote: post #14

netcan wrote: post #6

Could there have been a (pro android) business case for not releasing this app? Edit: accidentally wrote 'pr android.'

I think the bigger business case for not releasing it would have been unrelated to Android: Apple used to pay us a hell of a lot of money for our map data, and they chose to stop. So now we give their users our stuff for free instead? but clearly they decided in the end there was a bigger business case for doing it. I don't entirely understand how Google plans to make money, and I'm not always sure they understand th…

It is the dependence on the Google ecosystem.

Knowing what places you go to will help Google improve its search results and serve you better ads on all Google sites.

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

#250

Post by jkubicek » Thu, Dec 13, 2012, 9:52 PM UTC

WayneDB wrote: post #153

I hope Google waits a few months and then rolls out a premium-purchase maps feature. Then, when Apple demands their 30% and Google refuses, Apple has to pull the app again and frustrate all their users again. Not saying that's what will happen, but I can dream.

Why would you want that?