Google reportedly distributing near-final version of standalone iOS Maps app - Page 3

You probably live in the suburbs.  If you live in one of the major cities, apple map sucks.  If you live in a major city and use public transportation like the subway, the apple map is useless.  The best part of google maps was getting directions with the subway, especially in a city like NYC where you can't remember every subway route.

 

I was in DC last week (a city that I don't know well), and it was real frustrating not having subway system embedded into the map.  Whereas with google maps, I was used to getting around the city with different options depending on subway, walking, etc....

1. When you do the identical search in Google maps you get sponsored links? I didn't know that, so appreciated.

 

2. Soli, can you use Apple Maps and opt-out of location and travel stat sharing? I don't think so, and I think you already knew that.

 

Show me all the data Apple collects and what it knows about you and we'll compare it. Here's a good place to start; Google Dashboard. What does Apple's equivalent look like?

https://accounts.google.com

 

 

3. More transparent with more ways to control what's collected from users of their products than Apple? IMO Really! (tho there's lots of room for improvement) You've never been at all curious what Apple actually knows about you, or how extensive the data is? Do they even collect data on people who haven't ever purchased Apple products? I believe they do. Read their privacy policy.

 

Sounds like the opposite of what makes sense. Cities = more populous = more customers = more coverage. Why would some rinky-dink town in the middle of nowhere have better coverage than a "major city"? Sounds to me like since the small towns have good maps, everywhere has them.

Did you read the rest of my post?  How about embedded public transportation routes like the subway in google maps?  Try getting routes to get around NYC on the subway system or other major cities using subway.  You can't on apple maps.  This is really infuriating for me.

I could think of at least one argument where the opposite is true. In the one horse town there is only one diner and one bank and have  been there since the 1900s where as in the city things change on a daily basis. I offered one example a week or so ago where Apple finally got their own store in Fashion Island pinned in the right place as it was previously 2 year old data in the completely wrong location.

 

"Yeah, that Papa John's on 34th last week is up on 9th and Madison now."

"Huh. What's on 34th now?"

"A Christian bookstore."

 

But no, I see what you're saying; less starting data = less potential problems.

Three big issues I have the new Maps app:

 

1) Traffic data is borderline useless. If there's a traffic issue, you get a red dotted line. That's it. No different colors for different levels of issues. So the road could be shut down because of an accident but it will look the same as if traffic were just slow. It's also very difficult to tell which side of the road the traffic problem is on. Finally, having no traffic data and having no traffic issues are handled the same way by displaying nothing so you really don't know what is going on. Is there no issue or is there no data? The difference between those two could be huge.

 

2) The default zoom level of street information sucks. At the default level, very few streets have any sort of identification. By the time you get down to a level where all street names are visible, you're down to a couple of blocks on the map.

 

3) Hybrid view stupidly only seems to overlay whatever is considered a "major" road. So roads that are overhung by trees just vanish into nothingness only to pop up at a hard to distinguish later point.

 

Not really an issue, but despite all of its wow factor, I still don't see what 3D maps really add to the usefulness of the software.

I think the Apple Maps "situation" has been largely overblown in the media and in forums such as this one but it does point to a pretty significant planning and execution misstep by Apple. It makes me laugh when people also pass judgment on Tim Cook for what he has done or hasn't done (apologize for Maps, for instance). As if any of us have any insight whatsoever into running a company such as Apple. It's akin to us phoning NASA during the Apollo 13 crisis and offering some nuggets of advice of how they should do things better.

That said, my simple take on the situation:

1) Flyover is a gimmick that I suspect will be used (other than "hey check this out" use) by a very small percentage of users with any frequency. But I think it has been marketed well and that counts.

2) Street View in iOS 5 Maps was about the same...no real utility for users like me. But some commenters suggest that they used it all the time so I get that for some people it is a big hole in the current usefulness. One size does not fit all.

3) Apple Maps, for local business information, is a big step back for where I live north or Toronto. That is a big disappointment to me as I used that functionality almost every day. Again, actual mileage will vary, as other users seem to get great utility in their locales. I guess we shall see how soon the quality of that information improves

4) Turn by Turn directions are really nice and work really well. Huge plus in usefulness and Apple did a great service to users (like me, at least) by introducing this. I've used it near home and a couple of places in the US and it is really solid

5) the lack of integrated transit directions feels like a backwards step. Having to go to an outside app (as I did numerous times in Washington DC this past week) was cumbersome and just awkward. Short of Apple ultimately integrating that into the app I think that will be a permanent deficiency. I could be wrong but it is just so hard to see that process, even if it greatly improves in ease-of-use, being better than an integrated transit solution within Maps. But for whatever reason Apple has bet on outside apps being a better solution so we'll see how that pans out

Slightly unrated but I can't help but mention Jasmine is an awesome YouTube app replacement.

 

The vast majority of the population of the world live outside America, and yes, we're all finding Apple maps to be a train wreck. 

 

Towns are either missing or in the wrong place. Street names are missing. There's no street view. Most local businesses are missing (in my area, for example, Apple maps only knows about ONE pizza place - there are in fact dozens). There's no transit information.  Satellite imagery is often either black and white, or so low resolution that entire streets will be no more than a couple of giant pixels. Plus the maps are generally barren and devoid of useful information.   If Google Maps was a 100% product, Bing is a 25% product, and Apple Maps is a 5% product. The difference really is that big.

 

Google Maps will surely be the no.1 downloaded app in the UK app store upon it's release, and it will retain the no.1 spot until the end of time.

 

What lies? I have an iPhone 4 and can drop the signal from 5 or 4 bars to 1 bar, or from 3 bars and below to 'no service' just by holding the phone in my left hand.

 

That isn't a lie, it's a fact. I've long become used to holding the phone precariously between thumb and forefinger to preserve the signal. Not exactly a sensible way to hold a small, slippery device which cost me £600. I don't use a case as no device should every require a case, it should work as sold.

I've used a case ever since I dropped my then-almost-new iPhone 3G and shattered its screen, clumsy fool that I am. I've chosen rubberised cases since they absorb shock - and also stop the phone from skating about in front of the instrument cluster when I have it in the car, as a useful side effect .

 

Actually the error has now been patched over the weekend in the same update that brought in spoken turn by turn directions. I'm impressed. Thanks Siri!

Over here in western CDA and in Hawaii I used Apple Maps on an iPhone 5 in Apple Retail Stores.

Ran just fine for selecting routes.

I can't say the same for Google Maps, both on my iPhone4 and desktop browser.  So far this year it has errored very significantly about 4 times.  It took me to the wrong side of the I5 south of Everett, WA, when taking me to my hotel.  Another hotel told me where mine was; interestingly they had a note on the wall saying:

"Don't use Google Maps to find us, it can't!"