Looks like Apple's map software has lots of issues

[ControlD]

Having turn-by-turn navigation on a well developed mapping program on a smartphone has become a standard in today's day and age. This was poor planning. Very poor.

That is probably true. However, it isn't like this is something that iPhone users had in the past that has now been taken away. There was no built in turn by turn navigation built into the iPhone before this release so in that way even with inferior data this is a step up. I never really found the Google Maps application all that useful honestly. You couldn't use it while driving because of the lack of turn by turn. I think most iPhone users that needed such functionality found either a paid app or used something like Waze to fill this need. Those apps are still available for those that don't care for the Apple solution.

 

[jpeyton]

While Apple is still busy finding out if bodies of water exist, Google is actually diving them for Street View: http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=27786

 

[jpeyton]

Looks like the bad press parade just hit a new high note with the new Pogue piece on the NYTimes: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/27/t...s-review.html?pagewanted=all&_moc.semityn.www

In short, Maps is an appalling first release. It may be the most embarrassing, least usable piece of software Apple has ever unleashed.

 

[Mopetar]

While Apple is still busy finding out if bodies of water exist, Google is actually diving them for Street View: http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=27786

Seems like a cool feature, but if it's coming up in my navigation, I may have bigger problems

Side note: interesting that the article mentions that they have Hanauma Bay. I went snorkeling there once and it was great. Unfortunately I didn't have an underwater camera so I couldn't take pictures.

 

[pandemonium]

Looks like the bad press parade just hit a new high note with the new Pogue piece on the NYTimes: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/27/technology/personaltech/apples-new-maps-app-is-upgraded-but-full-of-snags-review.html?pagewanted=all&_moc.semityn.www

Ouch. Rightfully stated. Time for Apple to do damage control. Err, I guess they did request Google to make an app afterall for the iPhone and iPad. This must've been pretty recent [see following]. Months though...months.

The writers for this article are looking pretty biased, making Google out to be the bad guy in this situation (linked in David Pogue's NYTimes article):

Publicly, Google has been cagey about whether it will provide Google Maps for iOS devices as an app, beyond saying that it wants to provide its maps to users on any device they use. On Tuesday in Tokyo, Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google, said the company had made no move to submit a Google Maps app for the iPhone.

They even mentioned about the Tokyo Reuters article earlier that day, of Schmidt in Tokyo:

"We think it would have been better if they had kept ours. But what do I know?" Schmidt told a small group of reporters in Tokyo. "What were we going to do, force them not to change their mind? It's their call."

 

[jpeyton]

Seems like a cool feature, but if it's coming up in my navigation, I may have bigger problems

 

[Fingolfin269]

Looks like the bad press parade just hit a new high note with the new Pogue piece on the NYTimes: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/27/t...s-review.html?pagewanted=all&_moc.semityn.www

You know, a lot of people can forgive certain things about the new Maps app but not being able to trust the directions is a killer. Bells and whistles are nice but the main point of a map is to help you get to your destination!

If this were anyone other than Apple I think the outrage would probably be even more pronounced. In this case the hardcore are going to be ok and the ones pointing their fingers the most are those who would anyway. But at least the middle of the road folks are calling a spade a spade as well.

 

[goog40]

Ahahahahaha, motorola BURNED apple in a new ad:

http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/21/mo...-fun-at-apples-ios-6-maps-with-ilost-hashtag/

Lol, that address doesn't even exist

The problem, as noted by reader AMD Pettitte, is that 315 E 15th Street is not an actual address in Manhattan. A public park sits on that side of the street, making none of the block's odd numbers a valid address. The number will never be a valid address in Manhattan. This is indicated by looking closely at the picture, but none of the thousands of people sharing the false address lookup ad seemed to notice this.

So why would anyone actually be "looking for 315 E 15th" in New York? The only reasonable reason would be to locate an actual address that does exist in Brooklyn (which is also part of New York City), in an area where a series of numbered streets between East 11th and E 16th now have assigned names.

What was apparently once the 300 block of East 15th Street is now named Marlborough Road. Five blocks away, Marlborough Road turns into E 15th Street, where numbers begin on the 800 block. So Apple's Maps returning a location on Marlborough Road when searching for East 15th Street isn't nearly as absurd as Google's ad portrays.

If you're looking for an actual address in Manhattan, say 318 E 15th, the apartment building across from Google's fictitious address in the park, Apple's Maps can correctly locate it.

 

[gus6464]

I hate the new iOS6 maps. It is so bad it's not even funny. I have had 2 instances where it just makes up stuff where the location is. I think it is the right time to jump ship to WP8 and Lumia 920.

 

[WelshBloke]

... If this were anyone other than Apple I think the outrage would probably be even more pronounced. In this case the hardcore are going to be ok and the ones pointing their fingers the most are those who would anyway. But at least the middle of the road folks are calling a spade a spade as well.

TBH I think the issue is more about apples hubris than the maps app.

Yes the maps app is a bit crap but if apple didn't hype the hell out of everything they do it wouldn't be such an issue. (It would help if they let you set better alternatives as the default also, but that's just another example of their hubris).

It's like the case that gets scuffed easily and has gaps that let the light out. If they hadn't banged on about how amazing their manufacturing process was people might have been more sympathetic (although I'd still be pissed if my phone was scratched out of the box).

In short, if you're going to claim that you can do everything better on your own you better be able to deliver.

 

[mosco]

Interesting take by john gruber on the timing of the switch.

http://daringfireball.net/2012/09/timing_of_apples_map_switch

 

[Childs]

If this were anyone other than Apple I think the outrage would probably be even more pronounced. In this case the hardcore are going to be ok and the ones pointing their fingers the most are those who would anyway. But at least the middle of the road folks are calling a spade a spade as well.

If it was anyone other than Apple most people wouldn't care, aside from maybe Google creating a new mapping service from scratch. To be honest, I'm surprised its such a big deal. I didn't even know about this issue until I came in this sub forum looking for case suggestions!

 

[Mopetar]

Lol, nice.

 

[jpeyton]

To be honest, I'm surprised its such a big deal. I didn't even know about this issue until I came in this sub forum looking for case suggestions!

It seems to be the biggest deal for people outside the US: http://www.mobileindustryreview.com...llion-dollar-problem-happening-right-now.html

The author is from the UK and mentioned that (at the time of writing his article), Paddington Railway Station wasn't listed in Apple Maps. Paddington serves 32 million passengers a year. To add insult to injury, once Apple fixes the omission, the Maps application still won't have railway data that was included in Google Maps.

 

[TuxDave]

It seems to be the biggest deal for people outside the US: http://www.mobileindustryreview.com...llion-dollar-problem-happening-right-now.html

The author is from the UK and mentioned that (at the time of writing his article), Paddington Railway Station wasn't listed in Apple Maps. Paddington serves 32 million passengers a year. To add insult to injury, once Apple fixes the omission, the Maps application still won't have railway data that was included in Google Maps.

It's there now.

 

[jpeyton]

It's there now.

Yes, the author even mentioned that Apple is correcting errors one-at-a-time, by hand, as they are reported. It's going to be a long, slow, methodical process.

 

[TheStu]

Yes, the author even mentioned that Apple is correcting errors one-at-a-time, by hand, as they are reported. It's going to be a long, slow, methodical process.

It is the only way to do it though. I worked for a summer doing GIS intern work for a pipeline company, my job was to compare the existing paper maps against the digital map that the computer generated and fix all the little gaps that were created. I only did a portion of the east coast, and it took me 3 months.

 

[Phokus]

Lol, that address doesn't even exist

C/P from the r/apple subreddit:

http://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/10l91l/android_ad_lying_about_the_accuracy_of_imaps_by/

Technically speaking, its not a fake location. Its a real street. On every street, you can approximate a building address, with odd numbers on one side and even numbers on others.
There may be nothing there, but its a real location, with a real address.
And actually, what people are failing to realize is that this shows how much more powerful Google Maps' system actually is. It works algorithmically. It doesn't take your input and check it against a database of known locations. It takes it and figures out "Where should 315E 15th be...".
This is so much more powerful, and so much more expandable than what Apple has.

Also, what are you going to do, use someone's address? There's privacy concerns there.

 

[WelshBloke]

To our customers,

At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers. With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better.

We launched Maps initially with the first version of iOS. As time progressed, we wanted to provide our customers with even better Maps including features such as turn-by-turn directions, voice integration, Flyover and vector-based maps. In order to do this, we had to create a new version of Maps from the ground up.

There are already more than 100 million iOS devices using the new Apple Maps, with more and more joining us every day. In just over a week, iOS users with the new Maps have already searched for nearly half a billion locations. The more our customers use our Maps the better it will get and we greatly appreciate all of the feedback we have received from you.

While we're improving Maps, you can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app.

Everything we do at Apple is aimed at making our products the best in the world. We know that you expect that from us, and we will keep working non-stop until Maps lives up to the same incredibly high standard.

Tim Cook
Apple's CEO

text

 

[Phokus]

text

Ahahahaha, 'sorry for putting out garbage, please use our competitor's products'

 

[cheezy321]

I had my first issue with turn by turn directions yesterday.

2 things:
-I pulled up directions but used a different route than I wanted to use. So I decided to take a different freeway than Maps told me to. Once I got on the other freeway, it kept on telling me to take EVERY SINGLE EXIT so I can get off and drive to the freeway it wanted me on. It never did the whole 'recalculating route' thing! The freeway I was on would take me to the same exact place. This really annoyed me. How does google maps compare with the 'recalculating route'?

-It took me to the wrong strip mall! Good thing I had a basic idea of where I was. It took me to a place about 2 miles away from where I needed to go.

This is the first issue I have had with Apple maps since I downloaded iOS 6 about 3 months ago

 

[Aikouka]

http://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/10l91l/android_ad_lying_about_the_accuracy_of_imaps_by/

How does that blurb help "your cause" at all? Honestly, it sounds like typical political double talk that you hear on those awful news stations. You know... that happy talk that sounds good at first, but then you realize that it's spun more than a record.

I'll admit that I almost fell prey to the sweet sounding words, but then I slapped myself and realized that it was a load of horse hockey!

Technically speaking, its not a fake location. Its a real street. On every street, you can approximate a building address, with odd numbers on one side and even numbers on others.

Yes, it's a real street, but the address does not exist on that 15th St. Sure, you can say "well, if that address did exist, it would be right here." That would be a good feature if the address doesn't exist anywhere else. Hence the problem... Marborough Rd is 15th St, and that address in question does exist on it.

There may be nothing there, but its a real location, with a real address.

This is where he really falls. Yes, the location itself is a legitimate location (meaning it's a valid point on a map); however, no matter how much the author protests, the address in question is not associated with it. So no, it is not a real address for that "real location".

And actually, what people are failing to realize is that this shows how much more powerful Google Maps' system actually is.

I don't get this at all. How does presenting a location as an address that is not associated with it by the municipality (i.e. New York City) in which it exists over an actual location a powerful feature? Now, to be fair... I think it would be a decent result IF there wasn't any other valid location. However, Apple's result is a valid result, and it should be presented before an approximated address.

Also, what are you going to do, use someone's address? There's privacy concerns there.

What? What kind of hoopla is this? What "privacy concerns" are there for having an address with no name associated with it. For cripe's sake, the stinkin' Yellow Pages associate a name with an address and I don't see you claiming "Holy crap, privacy... privacy!!" over that.

Imagine, if we didn't have all those phone books, the Terminator never would have found Sarah Connor.

This isn't OT, keep it clean.

Moderator TheStu

 

[jpeyton]

I guess this comment is truer than we originally thought:

But honestly, how long before Apple gets dinged in a multi-million dollar headlining lawsuit by someone who drove into a river using Apple Maps?

 

[jpeyton]

I don't get this at all. How does presenting a location as an address that is not associated with it by the municipality (i.e. New York City) in which it exists over an actual location a powerful feature?

Do you know how street numbers work? If someone told me a restaurant was located around SE 8th Ave & SE Main Street, New York, I could punch in 800 SE Main NY in Google Maps and get an location. It's not a real address, but it finds me a location in seconds. Google Maps understands block numbers and can even approximate addresses. Apple Maps needs you to feed it as much information, in long notation, as possible in order to possibly give you a result. That's not powerful.

 

[Aikouka]

Do you know how street numbers work? If someone told me a restaurant was located around SE 8th Ave & SE Main Street, New York, I could punch in 800 SE Main NY in Google Maps and get an location. It's not a real address, but it finds me a location in seconds. Google Maps understands block numbers and can even approximate addresses. Apple Maps needs you to feed it as much information, in long notation, as possible in order to possibly give you a result. That's not powerful.

Why are you going off on a tangent about map address approximation? What I'm stating is that one would assume that a map program should choose an actual query result for a search string over an approximation.