Launch of Google Maps for iPhone viewed as a 'mixed blessing' for Apple - Page 4

 

Here come the government regulation and censorship analogies.

 

Which one?

 

All those cheap PAYG phone's dragging Android down to the lowest level as is clearly obvious from usage stats.

 

...and who pays the bills, which of those sites rely on Google advertising revenue?

 

Conflict of interest, much.

I downloaded this and tested it several times yesterday. It might be cool for people in some places other than the US or with other iPhone models not natively supporting turn by turn.

However, I thought the turn by turn was nowhere as good as my Navigon App, or Apple's own map. It also wasn't intuitive to use. For instance, you type in a place you want to go and once the app finds it I had to fiddle around to figure out how to get the app to start turn by turn.

The app also failed to tell me to make a few turns (lucky I knew where I was going). The app was also horrible at correcting routes on the fly.

My girlfriend and I both had our Iphones out. I used Apple's maps, she used Google's. Apple's maps didn't make the same mistakes, and I used Siri to get maps to give me directions. We both thought apple's maps did a better job. They also are prettier.

In truth, both Apps lack some of the cool features of Navigon. For instance, Navigon will tell me when I am speeding and I don't need an Internet connection for the app to work.

Like Apple's criticism has been inflated, I think Google's credit is over inflated. Google's app is good, but isn't the holy grail some would lead you to believe.

Ah, gocha. MG Siegler and David Pogue are on Google's payroll now. Is that your claim?

I experienced Apple's maps issue in Dallas.  I've downloaded Google maps for a backup but once Apple's stabilizes I'll use that exclusively.  It was only when Apple came out with their own turn-by-turn did Google deliver the same they had on Andriod for iPhones.  I see Amazon slighting iPhones with their augmented reality application too.   

The worldwide usage stats are here. With "supposedly" somewhat equivalent user base numbers iOS and Android, evidence that the two look pretty well in line with each other going by the charts here.

http://gs.statcounter.com/#mobile_os-ww-monthly-200911-201211

Mind the door on your way out. There's a pretty strong wind at your back.

Wow..choice.  Use what ya want and quite moaning.

 

So, I install Google Maps, fire it up, step outside my building, switch to satellite view, and.......white clouds.  Some would call that a "fail" !!
 

Could they have made the user interface on Google Maps any less intuitive? When I was finally able to set up turn-by-turn directions, it was by sheer luck.

 

there, fixed that for you.

 

Nope.

 

Apple leaves holes for developers to fill, unlike other manufacturers (pre-iPhone) who thought they had to provide everything.

 

Google just filled in a hole, now Apple has no responsibility or obligation to Google as regards their App.

 

btw, this is interesting:-

 

When you do this:-

 

 

 

You always start here, which was puzzling at first until I switched to satellite:-

 

 

 

Stonehenge, well played Google, although the observatory at Greenwich would have been better.

Edited by hill60 - 12/14/12 at 3:05pm

Well that's what I keep hearing the haters of Apple's maps want. Get Google maps back on iPhone as native app now. My point was Apple would never go for that. And Google certainly wouldn't have allowed a fully functioning maps (voice directed TBT, street view, transit info etc.) app that didn't have their branding. Neither side is wrong. It's just unfortunate that what Apple released wasn't up to their high standards.

I drove from Toronto to Buffalo today using Google and TomTom, and returned using Apple Maps and TomTom. Note that I had TomTom on an non-data plan iPad.

 

Had to turn off data entering the US and within a couple of mile, I lost the Google Map without data, as well as the Apple Map until I reentered Canada and turned data back on.

 

The TomTom's turn by turn on the other hand continued working perfectly without the data. More importantly, neither Google's or Apple's came anywhere near the simplicity of my TomTom. It too warns me when I am exceeding the speed limit. And with the go-to-picture feature, it is extremely easy to find a student or colleague just by having him/her email a picture of where they are on campus.

and yet I keep hearing how Google is better at software design than Apple these days.

It's not the same as iOS — feels more like WinPh than Android — but I don't think it's not unintuitive*. In fact, I think it's thought out very well and is very straightforward for how many features it has built in.



* un + in? Why can't we just use the word tuitive?

 

Are they the editors of the sites you mentioned (i.e. The editors at Ars, TheVerge, Techcrunch and Engadget all write that Google Maps for iOS outshines Apple's efforts so far.)?

Yes sir. One is an editor at TechCrunch I believe: Mr Siegler. They're also the two Apple-friendly bloggers (some have claimed "Apple shills") you deleted from my original response, as you already know. As for the others, are you also claiming that any site that offers Google ads, such as AppleInsider or RoughlyDrafted, must be assumed to be Google mouthpieces? If not, exactly what is your point.

 

Can't wait for this answer

I don' see how Android can have so many "activations" and yet still not be killing Apple in the worldwide stats. Even when you consider that most Android-based devices are used as feature phones and likely only using data in most countries when connected to WiFi it still seems like Android is doing poorly when they are only 8% higher than the next competitor, which is just one company's products, that doesn't sell nearly as many products as Google claims in activations. Something simply doesn't fit.

I find the US one even more interesting. It looks like both have plateaued over the past year. I'd wager that the nations Android is fairing worse against iOS are the nations that vendors selling Android-based phones are actually making their profit.

• http://gs.statcounter.com/#mobile_os-US-monthly-200911-201211

What happens if you turn off all location and tracking services for Apple Maps?

There's no way that NOT being available on iOS is a net positive for Google.

Obviously Google was going to put this out for free if Apple let them go.

 

Why pay for something if they'll just give it to you?

Google got hosed.

Here ya go Hill60 in case you overlooked part of my post you quoted, but really intended to comment on it.

Apple Maps's satellite images of Stonehenge are better than Googles. I guess that's a plus for Apple.



PS: I'm amazed at how close that highway is to Stonehenge. I'd think they'd want to make so a lorry that is run off the road can't hit it.
Edited by SolipsismX - 12/14/12 at 3:41pm

It starts at Cupertino, Infinite Loop. I believe.

Have you actually done it to see what happens, maybe a screen shot? Just curious.

Edited by Gatorguy - 12/14/12 at 3:42pm

Except for little things like not honoring my Safari settings to block cookies (they didn't tell me they were doing that) I was geting Google cookies though I NEVER went to a Google website or used Google search. Or driving around recording people's wi-fi broadcasts. Or publishing authors' works without permission. Or etc. etc. and who knows what else that they haven't told us about yet. There will plenty more fines for Google's violations of privacy laws before too long.

 

Akamai does that for location services, not Google, I thought. But is that really an invasion of privacy? All they do is find out what network is where, not anything about it or on it, right?

Now they just just need to fix the crappy wifi on ios6.

Hill60, If you're having some difficulty in figuring out how to turn off location and tracking in iOS6 I don't think you're alone. Most users probably have no idea that Apple sets location and tracking 'On" by default (So much for user privacy). IMO Apple is intentionally making it hard to opt out by putting the switches in odd places, areas where most users would never think to look, assuming they had any idea they needed to. 

 

Remember how Apple took away UDID from app developers bag of tricks? Well they gave something else back to them so that your personal interests can still be used to send ads meant just for you. Of course it's said to be "anonymous tracking". You won't see Apple mention it much, but its called IDFA. If you want to read up on it at all here's a link. IMHO it's not a bad balance between user privacy and Apple needing to deliver results for advertisers and developers.

http://apsalar.com/blog/2012/06/apples-new-advertising-id/

Edited by Gatorguy - 12/14/12 at 5:30pm

In terms of Apple's entry into the mapping business, this is obviously an admission of partial defeat. However, prior to iOS 6, there weren't any decent free turn-by-turn apps for the platform, which was a major advantage held by Android. Entering the mapping business and kicking Google off the platform as the default mapping solution, has forced Google to make an iOS version of their Maps app that is on-par with their Android version. Even if this is the only result of Apple's mapping effort, it's a win for the iOS platform.
So, Google has won the battle, but lost the war in a sense. They will have access to the data produced by iOS users, but they have lost a key advantage for the Android platform.
Apple doesn't really care if they have the best mapping solution, as long as mapping and turn-by-turn is not a barrier to people purchasing iOS devices.

It matters if you want to advertise to rich people.

Also can we get past pretending that one quarters market share = installed base. And a traditionally weak quarter for iPhones too.

I hope to see more Apple Maps innovations in the near future. It's amazing that they can deliver so quickly. Next lap is to deliver a better maps search and data. :-)

I'm surprised that Google Earth is a top app, but not that YouTube and Maps are.

 

Sometimes all these corporate/strategic control type things get in the way of making a good product, and that's when it has gone too far. Sure, Google has some power through controlling some vital servers, but Apple has a lot of power too, in that they control device that's in everybody's hands. It's kind of a cold-war mutually assured destruction thing and as long as neither side presses the button, the customer wins.

I should have been more clear. That is the footpath and people in my photo, but in Hill60's photo you can zoom in on and see the highway and car park. On further inspection I was also a bit overzealous with my comment about a runaway truck. Still, it does seem very close to the structure. Except for the La Brea Tar Pits in LA I can't think of any US landmark that is so close to a heavily trafficked road.

How come when people want to praise the old Apple maps app, it's called 'Google Maps' and when they want to criticize the same app, it's suddenly attributed to Apple again???

 

I know I've struggled with my wording in order to be clear which one I was referring. If it's just a comment about iOS 6 Maps and Google's new App Store offering I have been using Apple Maps and Google Maps, but if I need to reference pre-iOS 6 Maps it gets a little tricker because it's Apple's Maps app but Google's backend. Perhaps we need a simple way to refer to it that can be universally known with requiring a having to write pre-iOS 6 each time.

Most people do not understand the concept that doing the right thing can never be wrong, in the long term. So it goes with Apple, it's obviously the right thing to do to have google maps available, why not? Now Apple has some breathing space and is in a position to do real damage to Google in the long term by simply making their own mapping product unbelievable excellent, which is bound to happen eventually.

 

Lesson 1: http://cl.ly/image/172d3M3a0u3M

As much as I hate google, I had to go to google maps...

I couldn't take apple maps anymore... Idk if it was Siri or maps, but when I said "I need directions for the Claremont hotel in Berkeley", the fukn maps app added a pin IN FUCKN LOS ANGELES!!!!

WTF????

And this was just Wednesday... Happens wwaaayyyy too often!!!!!