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TomTom’s new mapping platform and ecosystem

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Re: TomTom’s new mapping platform and ecosystem

#351

Post by Aachen »

tekchip wrote: post #306

OSM and OsmAnd seem great except when you want to search for something. If I search for "mcdonalds" typed lazily I get 5 results hundreds of miles away. To find the local Mcdonalds restaurant I have to type "McDonald's" very specifically. This lack of fuzzy search makes these apps unusable. Its an unfortunate situation of the two parties involved in this software each pointing at each other and blaming the other with…

> I search for "mcdonalds" typed lazily I get 5 results hundreds of miles away. To find the local Mcdonalds restaurant I have to type "McDonald's" very specifically.

Very true. I do cut them some slack when I remember that they're essentially competing against the world leader in search. (Not that I use their search engine, but it's not for a lack of quality that I stopped using it.)

> If TomTom can just make a search that works better than this and layer that over the OSM data they've got a win IMO.

Exactly! I'd love to pay for such a product. Even better if they don't reinvent the wheel and instead just polish OsmAnd that can almost do more things than any individual person can ever know about.

Re: TomTom’s new mapping platform and ecosystem

#352

Post by Aachen »

JacobThreeThree wrote: post #312
drtz wrote: post #311

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Someone should build a good, open, web API-based search for OSM data. Not everyone cares about 100% offline capabilities, and improving search would be a massive gain in usability for OsmAnd and other OSM clients.

I don't see why Lucene couldn't be used for this application.

Why could it? Don't you somehow have to teach it which words are synonyms and common combinations for autocomplete etc.? It seems to me at least that this is where the major work would be, and even then it's expensive to run this for the whole world just for free.

Re: TomTom’s new mapping platform and ecosystem

#353

Post by groovybits »

hbn wrote: post #344
jstummbillig wrote: post #323

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's just better. Definitely better than crappy Google Maps I struggling to see how anything could be "definitely" better than "crappy" Google Maps. To me, GMaps has made navigation about as exciting as using a door knob. It works without fail, and is so incredibly mundane, that the thought of forming a strong opinion about it makes me drowsy.

I try to not use Google services where I can help it, but not using Google Maps to me just feels like risking screwing up my day. The fact that it's what everyone uses makes it the safe bet. They have so many users being tracked in real-time to reroute me around detours and traffic jams as soon as they happen, I don't really want to try anything else. If I use an alternative and get stuck in traffic, I'm not gonna be…

I've been using Apple Maps as my regular navigator since iOS 15.0 general release, and I've been impressed.

The audio directions are much clearer - e.g. "Go through this light, and at the next one turn right".

The integration with Siri and CarPlay is very handy - e.g. "Hey Siri, get directions to Bob's house".

And the traffic data is noticeably better in the last year.

Disclaimer: I live in suburban U.S. - I've heard less good things about AM in rural areas.

Re: TomTom’s new mapping platform and ecosystem

#354

Post by ars »

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 still have one in my car, despite the car having built-in map navigation.

The car does not let you change anything with the navigation if the car is in motion, apparently they've never heard of passengers.

It doesn't help that map upgrades are ferociously expensive, around a hundred dollars.

Re: TomTom’s new mapping platform and ecosystem

#355

Post by manuelabeledo »

reitanqild wrote: post #341
manuelabeledo wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I may be mistaken, but I think all those features, plus traffic data, are built in both Google and Apple Maps as well. Also, phones generally have larger and brighter screens, and more accurate GPS. I don’t see the advantage of TomTom here.

Problem is, for me at least, Google is useless for predictions or recommendations. Search is still better than DDG, but way worse than peak Google. Their recommendations are all over the place despite the fact that I have been logged in permanently in some form or another since GMail where still invite only. No one else except my wife and my parents know more about me (and to be perfectly clear they know different su…

It sounds like you have issues with the search engine, not maps.

Re: TomTom’s new mapping platform and ecosystem

#356

Post by newaccount74 »

checkyoursudo wrote: post #254
newaccount74 wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, there really should be some regulation around this. Apps sending traffic down quiet residential roads because the main road is overcrowded is a terrible practice. If it's a farm road, there's always the option my neighbour used to do: he took his sweet time when he let the cattle cross the road. It's always fun when impatient idiots have to wait a few minutes because 50 cows are walking to their meadows across t…

This kind of thing happened in the days before app maps/directions, but it is arguably worse now. My friends' street is the slightest bit of a shortcut. Like, it might save 30 seconds or a minute but it avoids a really annoying stoplight-controlled intersection. It is also a quiet, purely residential street. For 20+ years, people who live on that street park way out from the curb on both sides so that the street is n…

The best solution to a situation like that would be to block the road on one side (or in the middle) so you can't drive through it. Minor inconvenience for people who live there, but also a major quality of live improvement if you have no through traffic at all.

Re: TomTom’s new mapping platform and ecosystem

#358

Post by genocidicbunny »

DaiPlusPlus wrote: post #350
mosburger wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

no hate here - the "replace everything with an iPad" movement of car dash design has been generally, IMO, a horrible change. When driving, you need tactile feedback when adjusting things like the cabin temperature so that you can keep your eyes on the road. Replacing knobs with GUI sliders on a screen that you have to see to manipulate is a step backwards. I would love it if auto manufacturers came to their senses an…

I agree entirely. Heterogenous (I.e. distinctly shaped) physical controls are essential for safe driving without taking one’s eyes off the road. …but that doesn’t mean my last car’s abysmal “Ford MyTouch” or “Ford Sync” or whatever they rebrand it’s as was ever fit-for-purpose. How can a UI that can’t render faster than ~5fps be considered acceptable by the world’s leading carmaker? Where is the pride in their work?

You have a very good and valid point. Incidentally, despite being not a fan of Tesla's UX, I also see a bit of the silver lining in that it at least got people to start talking about it, both via the point you're making (that all other car UX sucks too) and also starting to ask the questions about what makes a good UX rather than a pretty one.

Re: TomTom’s new mapping platform and ecosystem

#359

Post by dev_tty01 »

>Continuously updated and detailed maps, location data, POI information, routing algorithms, estimated times of arrival (ETAs) and positioning systems are being combined to create powerful apps that are changing the way we (and our stuff) move and how we make sense of the world around us.

I suppose it is good that they finally noticed.

Re: TomTom’s new mapping platform and ecosystem

#360

Post by jupp0r »

groovybits wrote: post #353
hbn wrote: post #344

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I try to not use Google services where I can help it, but not using Google Maps to me just feels like risking screwing up my day. The fact that it's what everyone uses makes it the safe bet. They have so many users being tracked in real-time to reroute me around detours and traffic jams as soon as they happen, I don't really want to try anything else. If I use an alternative and get stuck in traffic, I'm not gonna be…

I've been using Apple Maps as my regular navigator since iOS 15.0 general release, and I've been impressed. The audio directions are much clearer - e.g. "Go through this light, and at the next one turn right". The integration with Siri and CarPlay is very handy - e.g. "Hey Siri, get directions to Bob's house". And the traffic data is noticeably better in the last year. Disclaimer: I live in suburban U.S. - I've heard…

Apple Maps still can't accurately route people to my house in suburban California. They end up one block over.
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