Apple maps is terrible.

[rocketpig]

superchunk said:

rocketpig said:

Apple kept Google from adding navigation? I heard it was the other way around. Link, please.

PS. Maps is hardly a "disaster". It launched three days ago and much of the information is going to be user-sourced. Shit, the iPhone 5 just launched yesterday. Big projects often come with big bugs. If this is still a problem six months down the road, then Apple has a serious issue on their hands but when a company is launching a massive project that consists largely of user-sourced information, they need USERS to iron out the bugs and make the system work. And those USERS are going to need to spend a few months telling Apple where they've screwed up and they'll start farming data to change locations, names, addresses, etc. in the Maps application. I predict that in a year, no one is even going to care about this supposed "disaster". How do you think Google Maps became so refined? By Google hiring people to walk around and knock on doors? No, it's been millions of users sending them data over the past 8-10 years. Give Apple more than 72 freakin' hours to catch up.

edit: After searching around, I've only found speculation about the lack of navigation in Maps but all evidence points toward Google blocking the feature, not Apple. Google does not release API information for navigation in Maps. That would make it virtually impossible for Apple to add navigation without dropping Google Maps entirely. Unless you have evidence that Google (out of the goodness of their heart) created a Maps application with navigation and Apple blocked it from releasing in the App Store, I'm going to have to call bullshit on your statement.

In Android Maps IS Navigation. They are one in the same. You download Maps, you have Navigation. Search the Play store, there is no stand alone Google Navigation app. Google made a Maps only app for iPhone as per the contract with Apple. I think (with no real evidence) that Apple was just planning ahead for the day it had its own maps and needed something to make it seem as a good thing when it dropped Google. Considering that Google's Maps with built-in navigation also existed on Black Berry and I even think WP7... the only thing that makes sense is Apple blocked it.

However, you are right that it takes time to build a good map and navi software. Apple had all the time in the world to do so and it could have gotten robust data from a lot of sources that exist. Not like Apple didnt' have the cash. Additionally, Google did hire people to go "door-to-door" why else would they have street view?

Fact is, Apple short changed their userbase. They more than likely gimped Maps for years and then when they forced users to change (like always no choice), they gave them an inferior choice that is clearly broken. I bet Google already has a Maps/Navigation that will work on iOS but Apple hasn't approved it yet because it knows once it releases, everyone will use that even if it isn't built into Siri.

This is exactly why I never use Apple. They force their products and give you no choice. At least with Android IF a Google service is sub-par, I can easily choose from 10 more AND even make one of them my default.

Read what I wrote again. Google does not release the API for their navigation system. That means Apple COULD NOT add navigation to their native maps app if it used Google Maps. The only option was to completely release control of the native Maps application to Google. So, no, Apple DID NOT block Google from adding navigation... The two companies simply did not cooperate to create a more functional Maps application. Whose fault is that? Hard to say because none of us were privy to those closed-door meetings. Apple didn't want to release a native app to a competitor, Google did not want to release their API to increase functionality. Sounds like a stalemate to me.

Apple obviously sourced as much data as they could get their hands on. After all, Maps was pretty accurate on launch day. But when you're dealing with shifting businesses and new content being added and subtracted every single day, you're going to need users to keep the system current. iOS6 had been downloaded 100 million times already. If this is still a problem in three months, I will be surprised and Apple will deserve more than their fair share of shit over the application.

And Google has announced that their iOS6 Maps application is not complete. Apple isn't holding anything back. There were rumors bouncing around but they appear to have been debunked, with Google hoping to release Maps "by Christmas".

And, again, Maps has been extremely accurate for me. Give it a few days to get on track. Apple has over 100 million users feeding them data and that number increases significantly by the day. If in a few months their Maps application still sucks, then they made a huge tactical error in doing this. In the short-term, I'll take navigation and map errors (that I haven't seen yet) over an accurate map and no navigation.