Apple iOS 6 Maps cuts Google's exclusive lock on directions, opens door to third party apps - Page 2

Quote:

Originally Posted by akira69 

Am I the only one that is disgusted with both this apple mapping program and googles in terms of scale?  Why can't these guys include a simple reference scale at the bottom, like any other map in the world?  What's 1 mile?  What's 10 miles?  It's impossible to tell without a scale!!

I'm not sure I'd use the word 'disgusted', but, yes, it would be nice if the maps had a way for you to view scale, even if it weren't always visible, but could be made to appear as an overlay. It might also be nice if you could drop 2 pins and get the straight-line distance between those points.

Quote:

Originally Posted by akira69 

Am I the only one that is disgusted with both this apple mapping program and googles in terms of scale?  Why can't these guys include a simple reference scale at the bottom, like any other map in the world?  What's 1 mile?  What's 10 miles?  It's impossible to tell without a scale!!

Not needed... You simply take the screen size diagonal and apply the pythagorean theorem (The the sum of the squares on the hypotenuse...) divide that by the number of short blocks (or is that long blocks) and multiply by 10...  Of course this doesn't work for cities like San Francisco, Paris, Washing DC, Machu Picchu ... /S

Seriously, I wonder about this too -- it'd be so easy to include a scale legend that resizes with zoom.  It'd also be useful if they showed "as the crow flies" air miles between two points on a map, say, St. Louis Park, MN and Pasadena, CA (Minneapolis and Los Angeles).  It is a simple calculation using the available geocodes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Corrections 

Quote:

Originally Posted by kotatsu 

Another hilariously biased story from DED.  I love they way the omission of transit directions from iOS is a good thing, because it opens up it all up to third parties, but the inclusion of Apple's in house turn by turn is absolutely wonderful. What about all those third party turn by turn apps?  Not so wonderful for those guys eh?  

 

I know it's a DED article so my expectations are at rock bottom, and yet this guy still amazes will his amateurish style. 

 

I really hope Google come out with a new maps app soon, which includes all their latest stuff. If that happens, it would be fascinating to get a break down of how many iOS6 users were using Google's maps, vs Apple's maps in 6 months time.

 

Where does the article opine anything about turn by turn being "absolutely wonderful"? It is only a factual outline of how it works.

 

It seems that if someone has a bias problem, it is a certain anonymous commenter who is billowing contradictory opinions. You say turn by turn is "Not so wonderful" for GPS apps, then turn around and say how excited you are to get Google's 2009 Maps Navigation, which only exists for Android. When you act all righteously indignant about supposed "bias," it makes you look like a raging hypocrite as a fanboy. Why can't you just say you disagree and state your opinions? Or are you afraid nobody cares what a nobody with no track record thinks? 

If the author of the article is going to post, he should use his real name and not be allowed to post anonymously.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Corrections 

Perhaps its not clear what opening up alternative routing to third party apps means.

 

The App Store is full of apps that show transit/bike/hiking routes, some in specific areas or on specific systems. So Bart.gov has an app, there are general purpose biking apps, some apps that only show trails in a specific county.

 

With iOS 6 Maps, you'll be able to look up apps that can integrate with Maps to provide specialized routing information right within Maps. As it is, Google provides only transit directions for iOS 5 and earlier. For subways that run on time (like Bart), this works pretty well. For SF Muni, it's a disaster. Google shows the wrong information! You have to look up NextMuni on the web or pull up a separate app like Routsey.

 

With iOS 6, you can tell Maps to consult with an app like Routesy to find you the most appropriate routes, rather than only getting Google's (often incorrect) data.

If the author of the article is going to post, he should use his real name and not be allowed to post anonymously.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sierrajeff 

Agreed.  I don't like the idea of having to pick a 3rd-party app for transit, even in my home area.  Today, for example, there are multiple Caltrain apps, each with their pluses and minuses. Awkward to be forced to pick one to be the interface for Maps.

 

And that's just one (of many) transit modes in one metro area.  If I go to Boston and land at Logan, and want to take transit to Cambridge... how will I know which Beantown 3rd party app is best to guide me on the T -- especially when I have to do that analysis while I'm jostling to get off a plane, find my luggage, etc.

 

Also, will these 3rd party transit apps interact well with each other?  If I want to go from Mountain View to Berkeley, will it know to tell me to take Caltrain to point X, and then transfer to BART (and will the scheduling information for each mesh)?  I have to suppose that the answer is "yes", or the product will be hugely panned... but it just seems like a lot of potential hassle and confusion for little benefit (other than Apple not needing to spend some of its banked billions itself to add transit directly into the new Maps).

Sounds like you're doing an infomercial for Pocket Flan... in a tube! Seriously? 

For starters, a smartphone is a... computer! So it can do things like determine which app is the most appropriate to provide transit routes in a particular area. Also, Routey and other third party apps already provide connections between agencies like Caltrain/Muni/BART. 

You're seriously complaining that Apple isn't "spending its banked billions" to duplicate existing functionality on a global scale? Why even have an App Store? Apple could spend its billions making half a billiion unique apps on its own! 

It's fine that you love Google more than sanity itself, but when you try to disparage Apple, at least bother to come up with non-rediculous complaints. 

Can anyone please at least confirm that iOS 6 maps will have overlays of subway maps?  I don't really give a rat's ass about directions or seeing schedules for transit,  I just want to be able to see the subway lines and the stops.  Someone tell me if they show this info?  I just need the visual reference, I am capable if finding my own way once I see a map.  And having separate app for that is going a step backwards in development (IMO).

If not, very likely i'm not upgrading to iOS 6.  We've had the discussion of Fly-Over vs. Street View, and I think that forum proved Street View was the clear winner for practicality and usability.

Screw Apple's BS quibbles with Google.

I'm sure Google will introduce a maps App for iOS 6 and that's what I'll be using.

Same reason why I now use the Chrome App instead of Safari Browser on my iPad.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AppleInsider 


Apple's strategy of taking its Maps solo in iOS 6 was initially described in Apple wants to wipe Google off the map with iOS 6, while a second segment detailed how the company will be leveraging vector graphics to greatly improve the Maps experience in iOS and a third segment outlined how Apple is adding 3D Flyover features to displace Google's Street View.
 

This is so typical of a DED article...

He quotes prior articles written by him, to give the perception that there is meat to the subject, support, consensus... or even settled science.

Then he quotes some thing as fact:  "Apple is adding 3D Flyover features to displace Google's Street View" -- blissfully ignoring that most posts in response his "fact" disagreed with him.  

There is no documented fact that Apple intends 3D Flyover to replace Google's Street View!

There is no documented fact that Apple will not include Googles Street View in iOS 6 maps!

There is no documented fact that Apple will not include their own or another 3rd-party Street View in iOS 6 maps!

I expect that "Corrections" will challenge me and this post for "bias" and "billowing contradictions"... Or engage in a personal attack like:

"Why can't you just say you disagree and state your opinions? Or are you afraid nobody cares what a nobody with no track record thinks?" 

Quote:

Originally Posted by antkm1 

Can anyone please at least confirm that iOS 6 maps will have overlays of subway maps?  I don't really give a rat's ass about directions or seeing schedules for transit,  I just want to be able to see the subway lines and the stops.  Someone tell me if they show this info?  I just need the visual reference, I am capable if finding my own way once I see a map.  And having separate app for that is going a step backwards in development (IMO).

 

If not, very likely i'm not upgrading to iOS 6.  We've had the discussion of Fly-Over vs. Street View, and I think that forum proved Street View was the clear winner for practicality and usability.

 

Screw Apple's BS quibbles with Google.

 

I'm sure Google will introduce a maps App for iOS 6 and that's what I'll be using.

Same reason why I now use the Chrome App instead of Safari Browser on my iPad.

How do you access "overlays of subway maps" in iOS 6?

I have never used this, but can see that it would be useful -- just like a "bird's-eye view"... Moscow, Paris, London...

That's one of the weaknesses of Google's Street View.  It only shows what the camera car could see from the street.  It will be interesting to see if Apple can expand on the walking routes, including hiking trails.

Great feature.  Vastly better than a flat 2D overhead map because you can see topography.  Far less computationally-intensive than the full 3D Flyover texture-skin graphics.  Doesn't need to wait for images to be downloaded from a server like Google Street View, and doesn't suffer from the Myst-like slide show effect that Street View gives you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SockRolid 

 

That's one of the weaknesses of Google's Street View.  It only shows what the camera car could see from the street.  It will be interesting to see if Apple can expand on the walking routes, including hiking trails.

Google is doing "trail views" too

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57448293-93/google-takes-street-view-off-road-with-backpack-rig/

...and indoors as well.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2399456,00.asp

http://maps.google.com/help/maps/starthere/index.html

Quote:

Originally Posted by dr_lha 

It's not just international coverage though, TomTom's maps (in the USA at least) significantly lag others, including Google. For example, the road I cycle down every morning to go to work, according to TomTom (and Apple's new Maps app), does not exist. Most damningly, when you turn on the satellite hybrid view, the road, fully populated with houses, can be clearly seen in the satellite imagery that Apple is using (much higher resolution than Googles for the record), but not in TomTom's database. That satellite imagery for my neighborhood is at least 2-3 years old judging by the construction projects. I've been a TomTom owner (car GPS) for about 6 years, and it's always been my impression that TomTom's mapping is way out of date compared to others. Not the best partner for Apple to pick IMHO.

The road doesn't exist in your GPS???

Maybe you'd better not go down it then, you might fall off the edge of the world.

I wonder if the extinction of the human race will come about due to an over-reliance on technology taking away our ability to trust our own senses.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton 


I use them, especially when I'm in a city I am not familiar with, such as when I am on vacation. The current iOS maps program has bus stops along with info about which routes each stop services. I found that I could also visit the city's mass transit web site to get the same info (but if it isn't optimized for small screens, then I'm pinching and zooming and scrolling like crazy), but current Maps shows you where you are in relation to each bus stop, which is pretty cool. I can look across the street see a bus stop and look in maps and know where that bus is going.

You know bus stops, they usually have these things called "maps" and "timetables", you see in the olden days before we were getting all our information from a hand held screen we had to use these things called "signs" because there was nothing else.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hill60 

 

You know bus stops, they usually have these things called "maps" and "timetables", you see in the olden days before we were getting all our information from a hand held screen we had to use these things called "signs" because there was nothing else.

You could say the same thing about Maps...or really anything your phone currently does. As such, I trust you're not the owner of such redundant technology?

Quote:

Originally Posted by redbarchetta 

You could say the same thing about Maps...or really anything your phone currently does. As such, I trust you're not the owner of such redundant technology?

I was referring to the maps and timetables that are usually posted at bus stops.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacBook Pro 


This is almost certainly false. Apple Maps in iOS 6 Beta 4 provides turn-by-turn navigation for the continent and country known as Australia (to which I assume you refer). In fact, Maps provides 3D Flyover for Sydney and Melbourne as well.
Apple Maps has more business listings than Google Maps. According to Scott Forstall, "... we’ve already ingested more than 100 million business listings around the world to make a great local search.” (1)
Why would Apple provide their best-in-class solution to competitor's platforms? Google didn't provide their catalog of mapping and navigation features to competitor's platforms.
1. Mark Milian. Published 12 June 2012. Apple Maps Already Has More Business Listings Than Google. Bloomberg. Retrieved 5 September 2012.

Hopefully this will be true not only for USA but for the rest of the world too. 

Does someone has a developer versions of iOS 6 and can tell us about the business listings in it? 

Still Apple should provide it accessible from a browser. What about OSX users? or other users? The more popular the map will be the more features and listing it will get. This is why Google Maps is now universal and used by 90% of the internet users. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacBook Pro 

Why would Apple provide their best-in-class solution to competitor's platforms? Google didn't provide their catalog of mapping and navigation features to competitor's platforms.

For Apples Maps to replace Google's in my usage I would have to be able to send links to places to friends independent of the platform they are using. I can do this now with Google maps when I send game information to the members of my soccer team. They don't have to use iOS. They could use the same link I send out on a Saturday morning on an iPhone, an Android phone or a PC/Mac. Apple's Maps mustn't become ghetto-ised - even if it a huge ghetto. Being able to use links produced by iOS 6 Maps on other platforms is a huge issue for me and so many others I know.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bdekok 

No, I'm afraid it is not almost certainly false.
If you bother to have a quick look at the Australian web site www.apple.com.au and check out the iOS6 preview, you'll see a noted difference with the American and UK versions. Specifically, the Turn-by-turn feature is not mentioned and the images have been modified to have the turn-by-turn details removed.
Apple will not go to this trouble for nothing. If they've taken it out of advertising it almost certainly means that it won't be offered.

I have had turn by turn in Australia for several years, MetroView, best $15 supporting local developers I ever spent, it has speed and red-light cameras and the maps are stored on your phone or iPad.

It's not the end of the world.

HTFU

Quote:

Originally Posted by hill60 

 

The road doesn't exist in your GPS???

 

Maybe you'd better not go down it then, you might fall off the edge of the world.

 

I wonder if the extinction of the human race will come about due to an over-reliance on technology taking away our ability to trust our own senses.

WTF is your point here?  The fact that the road doesn't exist according to TomTom clearly doesn't stop me cycling down it, what an asinine thing to say, I already said that I cycle down it every day.

My point is that TomTom's information lags behind Google's and others (MapQuest for example, and OpenStreetMaps). Like it or not, people use GPS directions to get places. If you live on that street, and the person visiting you is using iOS6 for directions, they can't find you because you don't exist according to TomTom. This is a problem that could be solved by using something other than TomTom's data. 

"Relying on your senses" won't help you navigate if you don't know where you're going.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dr_lha 

 

WTF is your point here?  The fact that the road doesn't exist according to TomTom clearly doesn't stop me cycling down it, what an asinine thing to say, I already said that I cycle down it every day.

 

My point is that TomTom's information lags behind Google's and others (MapQuest for example, and OpenStreetMaps). Like it or not, people use GPS directions to get places. If you live on that street, and the person visiting you is using iOS6 for directions, they can't find you because you don't exist according to TomTom. This is a problem that could be solved by using something other than TomTom's data. 

 

"Relying on your senses" won't help you navigate if you don't know where you're going.

Time the human race existed without GPS = __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Time the human race has existed with GPS =

.

My point is that it is not the end of the world, ever since the iPhone was first introduced there has been a trend of over dramatisation of missing "essential" features in failed attempt after failed attempt to garner a groundswell of support outside a handful of sites favoured by technocrats.

Apple is using Open Maps, your street isn't on there?

Go online and add it yourself.

I live in a new housing estate, there were a few errors with some street names, it took a couple of minutes to fix in open maps.

nice, so the battery life will be even shorter when using maps...-.-

Quote:

Originally Posted by hill60 

 

Time the human race existed without GPS = __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Time the human race has existed with GPS =

.

 

My point is that it is not the end of the world, ever since the iPhone was first introduced there has been a trend of over dramatisation of missing "essential" features in failed attempt after failed attempt to garner a groundswell of support outside a handful of sites favoured by technocrats.

 

Apple is using Open Maps, your street isn't on there?

 

Go online and add it yourself.

 

I live in a new housing estate, there were a few errors with some street names, it took a couple of minutes to fix in open maps.

Time the human race existed without iPhones = __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Time the human race has existed with iPhones =

.

We should all leave this site. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by akira69 

Am I the only one that is disgusted with both this apple mapping program and googles in terms of scale?  Why can't these guys include a simple reference scale at the bottom, like any other map in the world?  What's 1 mile?  What's 10 miles?  It's impossible to tell without a scale!!

I can't speak to the Apple maps, but Google maps does have that feature, at least on android. Its just not on by default. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacBook Pro 

Google Maps aren't interoperable with other map solutions. If you send someone a link from Google Maps the link provides directions from Google Maps.

I didn't mean to suggest that Google's maps were interoperable with other mapping solutions. I tried to make it clear that they have a solution available on (almost) all platforms. So, to be as clear as I can be, If I send a Google maps link from my iOS device to friends who use Windows Phone, Android, a Windows PC, a Macintosh or another iOS device then they will be able to use it. They can click the link (hypertext) and be taken to the appropriate application and shown the destination. Because Google maps solutions are borderline ubiquitous they don't need to be "interoperable". So my 2¢ worth is that to replace Google's maps in my usage Apple's alternative would have to have the same sort of platform agnosticism.