Apple being wooed by Nokia for $3.2B HERE mapping acquisition, report says

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  • Reply 41 of 66
    gtbuzzgtbuzz Posts: 129member
    Apple could do a lot for Maps with just 1B$ US.
    However, software is important to Apple, not just hardware.
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  • Reply 42 of 66
    As long as it fixes the UNACCEPTABLE Apple Maps situation in Hong Kong, I'm on board.
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  • Reply 43 of 66
    woodbine wrote: »
    If they don't buy it, "not invented here" is still alive and kicking at Cupertino....however, if they do buy it, then that could be a sign TC has made long lasting changes to the Apple culture.

    ...NIH died with the NeXT acquisition. :no:
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  • Reply 44 of 66
    tbelltbell Posts: 3,146member
    I don't know about the price, but Nokia has great data. Nokia gets some of it data from ups. It also has Navtec trucks driving around. The software implementation using the data stinks.

    Apple doesn't own its own mapping data, but relies on third parties to provide it. I could see Apple wanting to own the data.
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  • Reply 45 of 66
    MacPromacpro Posts: 19,873member
    adamc wrote: »

    Apple Maps is used all the time and it is good.

    Do I use google maps the answer is no need because Apple's is just as good.

    On a Mac I can no longer use Google Maps even if I wanted to. It is impossible with a Magic Mouse. I can't move the map without it zooming in and out, it literally creates nausea. I have tried various solutions including a plug-in. Nothing seems to help! Google tech support blogs claim it is the mouse's problem yet I can move around in all other applications without this issue including 3D graphics, CAD, Games and Apple Maps.
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  • Reply 46 of 66
    z-macz-mac Posts: 1member
    Not good for Apple to acquire Here. In US, Apple Maps continue to improve, and have become comparable to Here.com on Apple devices.
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  • Reply 47 of 66
    MacPromacpro Posts: 19,873member
    ...NIH died with the NeXT acquisition. :no:

    Right. It is strange how these untrue myths about Apple get perpetuated.
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  • Reply 48 of 66
    mnbob1mnbob1 Posts: 269member
    Have any of you tried out the new HERE app on the iPhone. I've been trying it out since the day it was released. It has transit, the ability to download maps, speed zone warnings and more. Try it out before you criticize it. Nokia has been known for quality mapping for a long time.
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  • Reply 49 of 66
    hydrogenhydrogen Posts: 314member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by lightknight View Post

     

    I never thought of that, but you are perfectly correct. It is particularly annoying to see just how inferior the experience of the customers who on average pay most is. Siri sucks out of the USA, particularly because of its deep integration to Apple software that is not that good outside of the USA ("Siri, ai-je besoin d'un manteau à Zandvoort ce soir?", "Siri, trouve moi un itinéraire de Amsterdam Central à Rokinstraat 77"), because some software just does NOT work at all, probably because of USA-only agreements (that the rest of the world still pays for... the logic of 'the product is more expensive because of added cost' doesn't apply to 'the product is less expensive because of reduced costs'). Not to mention the ridiculousness of SiRi not being able to pronounce street names in the local language when responding to a query, making route directions, even if it does find them, entirely useless.

    <...>

     

    I believe Apple will improve Siri, as it is an essential piece in the overall picture (including, in particular, the Apple Watch).

     

    In the examples you refer to, there is a mixture of a given langage + places (or people) referring to a country where another langage is spoken. I have noticed Siri cannot handle this well (e.g. I live in France in a street named "JF Kennedy", and I have never figured out what kind of pronunciation Siri was expecting for the latter .... ). This kind of problem is not that easy to handle (not to mention countries like Belgium, where you have multiple official langages, and accordingly street names, etc ....


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  • Reply 50 of 66
    lightknightlightknight Posts: 2,312member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Hydrogen View Post

     



    Yes, indeed. I'm aware that the problem is hard to solve, but if Apple can't tackle it properly, they shouldn't advertise a solution. They should advertise a US-only beta feature. I do hope it gets fixed (and the other article that just came out suggest to me it might be at some point... they're beefing up their teams for a good reason). In any case, I don't currently use Siri much, but Siri is not the reason I use the iPhone. I do hope it will fare better  on my Watch... through some magic... ;)

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  • Reply 51 of 66
    ...NIH died with the NeXT acquisition. :no:

    Right. It is strange how these untrue myths about Apple get perpetuated.

    Actually, Apple's NIH attitude was quite prevalent in the early days. As far as I could tell, at the time, a lot of that attitude originated with Jobs -- and was projected by his close followers (all very talented).

    After Jobs left, in 1985, the NIH attitude dissipated -- along with a lot of other stuff (like design, profit, customers ...).


    My wife and I left the Industry 1n 1989 and moved from Silicon Valley to Tucson --- so I lost most of my close contacts at Apple.


    Anyway, IMO, the Steve Jobs who returned to Apple in 1997, was a different person -- still driven, but more willing to build upon the work of others.

    Some good examples of this are:
    • the iPod
    • Final Cut (nee KeyGrip)
    • iTunes (nee SoundJam)
    • iTunes for Windows
    • FingerWorks -- MultiTouch UI

    IMO, Steve had become a savvy businessman who now understood the importance of timing as a competitive advantage (in addition to hardware and software excellence).

    To Buy or To Build became a viable option -- to get Apple where Steve wanted it to go!
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  • Reply 52 of 66
    MacPromacpro Posts: 19,873member
    Actually, Apple's NIH attitude was quite prevalent in the early days. As far as I could tell, at the time, a lot of that attitude originated with Jobs -- and was projected by his close followers (all very talented).

    After Jobs left, in 1985, the NIH attitude dissipated -- along with a lot of other stuff (like design, profit, customers ...).


    My wife and I left the Industry 1n 1989 and moved from Silicon Valley to Tucson --- so I lost most of my close contacts at Apple.


    Anyway, IMO, the Steve Jobs who returned to Apple in 1997, was a different person -- still driven, but more willing to build upon the work of others.

    Some good examples of this are:
    • the iPod
    • Final Cut (nee KeyGrip)
    • iTunes (nee SoundJam)
    • iTunes for Windows
    • FingerWorks -- MultiTouch UI

    IMO, Steve had become a savvy businessman who now understood the importance of timing as a competitive advantage (in addition to hardware and software excellence).

    To Buy or To Build became a viable option -- to get Apple where Steve wanted it to go!

    Yes I agree, hence my comment was agreeing with the post I replied to:
    Originally Posted by TheWhiteFalcon View Post

    "...NIH died with the NeXT acquisition"

    Right. It is strange how these untrue myths about Apple get perpetuated. [as in after the NeXT acquisition]
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  • Reply 53 of 66
    SpamSandwichspamsandwich Posts: 33,407member
    My street name has been misspelled since a Day 1. It's in a well-known northern New England town.

    I've complained/written to Apple in over a dozen times. I finally gave up a few months ago. (I checked again just before posting this, to make sure that it did not magically change. Sure enough, it had not).

    Apple Maps has a ways to go. Period.

    Perhaps you've been misspelling your own street name? ????
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  • Reply 54 of 66
    SpamSandwichspamsandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Speaking of companies hopelessly looking for an Apple acquisition... Tidal is reportedly a flop.

    http://finance.yahoo.com/news/jay-z-streaming-service-flops---84m-lehman-trial-begins-and-cash-is-not-king-144459023.html
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  • Reply 55 of 66
    Actually, Apple's NIH attitude was quite prevalent in the early days. As far as I could tell, at the time, a lot of that attitude originated with Jobs -- and was projected by his close followers (all very talented).

    After Jobs left, in 1985, the NIH attitude dissipated -- along with a lot of other stuff (like design, profit, customers ...).


    My wife and I left the Industry 1n 1989 and moved from Silicon Valley to Tucson --- so I lost most of my close contacts at Apple.


    Anyway, IMO, the Steve Jobs who returned to Apple in 1997, was a different person -- still driven, but more willing to build upon the work of others.

    Some good examples of this are:
    • the iPod
    • Final Cut (nee KeyGrip)
    • iTunes (nee SoundJam)
    • iTunes for Windows
    • FingerWorks -- MultiTouch UI

    IMO, Steve had become a savvy businessman who now understood the importance of timing as a competitive advantage (in addition to hardware and software excellence).

    To Buy or To Build became a viable option -- to get Apple where Steve wanted it to go!

    Yes I agree, hence my comment was agreeing with the post I replied to:
    Originally Posted by TheWhiteFalcon View Post

    "...NIH died with the NeXT acquisition"

    Right. It is strange how these untrue myths about Apple get perpetuated. [as in after the NeXT acquisition]


    Sorry ... I was unclear ... I understood what you meant, and was attempting to support both your posts.

    Your history, too, goes back to the Jobs I era ... where the running joke among Apple mid-level management was:

    What's the difference between Apple and the Boyscouts ...

    One of them has Adult Supervision :D
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  • Reply 56 of 66
    SpamSandwichspamsandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Sorry ... I was unclear ... I understood what you meant, and was attempting to support both your posts.

    Your history, too, goes back to the Jobs I era ... where the running joke among Apple mid-level management was:

    Those early days at rapidly growing Apple must've been quite challenging for the employees.
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  • Reply 57 of 66
    MacPromacpro Posts: 19,873member
    Sorry ... I was unclear ... I understood what you meant, and was attempting to support both your posts.


    I think my unclear was more unclear than your unclear ... :D
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  • Reply 58 of 66

    Nobody is mentioning the potential IP value. NAVTEQ started doing something similar to Fly Over but at the street level quite a while ago, and I'd imagine that the data and technology would be quite valuable. It seems like the Apple vans are equipped to take advantage of exactly this technology, so maybe Apple is already licensing the tech.

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  • Reply 59 of 66
    SpamSandwichspamsandwich Posts: 33,407member
    I think my unclear was more unclear than your unclear ... :D

    Clearly. ????
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  • Reply 60 of 66
    Apple has a tendency of buying companies and bringing the technology, patents and/or people into Apple and discarding the products that the company was selling to the public. HERE, originally NAVTEQ it seems, is a company that has many products that it sells: data for various GPS devices or web sites, etc. What i haven't seen anyone mention is how they think Apple would handle the existing contracts that HERE has with potential Apple Maps competing devices/services.

    If Apple did buy HERE, it could keep it as a seperate company that Apple Maps would licence the data from to improve Apple Maps, but would Apple improve the HERE data and maps that could benefit Apple competitors? If HERE is losing money now, would Apple continue to allow it to lose money if it was operated as an arms-length company owned by Apple?

    Apple could also buy HERE, get perpetual licences to the HERE data/patents/etc and cherry pick staff for Apple Maps and then put the remnants back up for sale, but what would anyone then want to spend on the remnants? It might work for Apple but anger regulators and others.

    Apple could wind up HERE and bring all its data into Apple exclusively for exclusive Apple use but there would likely be a zillion lawsuits for breach of contract from those licencing HERE data, and it could also entail anti-competitive/anti-trust rulings against Apple for removing a map competitor from the market.

    No matter which company HERE is sold to, there will likely be governmental approvals required (EU especially, FTC in the US, etc) and require agreements on continued data availability to everyone.

    I don't know which way Apple should go. Canadian Apple Map data is not bad in my limited usage of travel. Improvements are always welcome of course, especially for those outside of the USA.
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