Google Maps now available in App Store

[time space]

Australian Police Warn Against Apple Maps, Citing “Potentially Life Threatening” Misdirection

Police in Victoria have urged motorists to avoid the use of Apple Maps, warning that faulty directions on the much-criticized app have left motorists stranded in the Australian outback for up to 24 hours without food or water.

http://techcrunch.com/2012/12/09/aus...-misdirection/
HAHA

Australian police: flawed Google Maps putting people’s lives at risk, too

Police in Mildura have had to conduct six rescues in recent weeks, after through the Murray Sunset National Park.

Now police in Colac, west of Melbourne, say faults with Google maps are putting people’s lives at risk along the Great Ocean Road and in the southern Otways.

Google is apparently directing vehicles and tourists down Wild Dog Road.

The problem is, that’s a one-way track and not built for heavy traffic.

Sergeant Nick Buenen said:

My issue is it’s a significant safety issue for tourists [and] locals, who are getting the wrong information from their GPSs. My concern is that one day we’re going to be at the coroners court [being asked] well what did you do about it.

I might have echoed your "HAHA", but unlike the Apple story, Google Maps is not just "potentially life threatening", police have actually had to conduct rescue missions to save Google Maps users because of the dangerous information Google is spreading.

[igotskill]

sorry, I mean Ipad available?

Compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation), iPod touch (5th generation) and iPad. Requires iOS 5.1 or later. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

[rems]

I guess having cr@ppy maps forces Apple to play nice haha

[theguyz]

Australian police: flawed Google Maps putting people’s lives at risk, too

I might have echoed your "HAHA", but unlike the Apple story, Google Maps is not just "potentially life threatening", police have actually had to conduct rescue missions to save Google Maps users because of the dangerous information Google is spreading.

I love both apple and google maps, each with issues in my area. Apple maps, has plotted ATV trails as Roads in my area......trust me need a good 4x4 for some of them :p even 2x4 ATV's have issues. And then google maps, has a road to an island here, on wrong side of island and from a private driveway on other end of lake ( thinking may have been a ice fishing road/route saved my someone and uploaded ) but official road does not exist.

[MkmBandit]

http://www.theverge.com/2012/12/12/3...gation-transit

"Compared to Apple's Maps app, Google Maps clearly wins on the data front, with complete mass transit directions and fewer of the accuracy issues that have plagued the built-in app. What's more intriguing is that Google Maps also matches (or beats, depending on your taste) Apple Maps in its speed, design, and overall aesthetics. It's the combination of massive and accurate data with a well-made app that makes Google's offering so compelling.

Google Maps for iOS is the best-designed maps app on any platform and challenges even Google Maps on Android for speed. That sounds like hyperbole, but on the iPhone 5 the new Google Maps app seems faster and is definitely better-designed than even Google Maps on Android. If Apple CEO Tim Cook is looking for examples of how to do a maps app right on the iPhone — or on any platform — Google has provided the answer."

So Apple fanzoids, your head in a twist yet?

[miss_swan]

Australian police: flawed Google Maps putting people’s lives at risk, too



I might have echoed your "HAHA", but unlike the Apple story, Google Maps is not just "potentially life threatening", police have actually had to conduct rescue missions to save Google Maps users because of the dangerous information Google is spreading.

Google maps is just better .... Just deal with it.

[ceredon]

http://www.theverge.com/2012/12/12/3...gation-transit

"Compared to Apple's Maps app, Google Maps clearly wins on the data front, with complete mass transit directions and fewer of the accuracy issues that have plagued the built-in app. What's more intriguing is that Google Maps also matches (or beats, depending on your taste) Apple Maps in its speed, design, and overall aesthetics. It's the combination of massive and accurate data with a well-made app that makes Google's offering so compelling.

Google Maps for iOS is the best-designed maps app on any platform and challenges even Google Maps on Android for speed. That sounds like hyperbole, but on the iPhone 5 the new Google Maps app seems faster and is definitely better-designed than even Google Maps on Android. If Apple CEO Tim Cook is looking for examples of how to do a maps app right on the iPhone — or on any platform — Google has provided the answer."

So Apple fanzoids, your head in a twist yet?

No, my head isn't twisted. The new google maps apps is superior in many ways. This should be expected, given how long Google's been doing mapping and how much they have invested into it. Apple is very new to it, and since mapping so driven so much by user data, only an idiot would expect it to be superior out the door.

But given just how bad the old google supported app was, what choice did Apple have? Concede to whatever demands Google was making, regardless of how intrusive and extreme? In the end, Apple got from google almost exactly what they wanted. They got an app with the full google mapping dataset, with TbT and voice directions and vector based maps. Apple users now have two free options for mapping. I have yet to run into a single problem with the new Apple maps app, but I understand it is possible. Apple's app will improve. Google's map will improve. win-win.

On a side note: after playing with the google app, I cannot believe how often it asks for me to sign in. When you first launch it, it requests a login. If you decline, whenever you do something like search an address, it pesters you to sign in again. I understand Google's obsessive need to collect data on everyone, but seriously, F*** off once I have declined.

[b166er1337]

But given just how bad the old google supported app was, what choice did Apple have? Concede to whatever demands Google was making, regardless of how intrusive and extreme? In the end, Apple got from google almost exactly what they wanted. They got an app with the full google mapping dataset, with TbT and voice directions and vector based maps. Apple users now have two free options for mapping. I have yet to run into a single problem with the new Apple maps app, but I understand it is possible. Apple's app will improve. Google's map will improve. win-win.

Wrong, Apple was responsible for the original Google Maps on iOS, not Google.

and Wrong again, it's not a win win when Tim Cook has to apologize to the public repeatedly, when the head of iOS Scott Forstall is fired, and when the company suffered from ridicules by its customers and others.

Not saying Apple Map is a fatal mistake, but to label it as win win is daydreaming on your part. Google wins this round handily.

[ceredon]

Wrong, Apple was responsible for the original Google Maps on iOS, not Google.

Umm, yes, Apple did the UI. Google supplied the tiles, the routing info, the mapping data and the entirety of the back end mapping service. Hence, it was a "Google supported app", exactly as I said. The features that were missing (TbT, Voice nav and vector based maps) would have to come from google, so if Google decline and Apple stayed with the google supported app, it would have remained handicapped.

and Wrong again, it's not a win win when Tim Cook has to apologize to its customers repeatedly, when the head of iOS Scott Forstall is fired, and when the company suffered from ridicules by its customers and others.

Forstall was likely going to be on his way out anyway. Apple had already brought back Mansfield and had begun other restructuring (Federrighi and Riccio being promoted months or weeks before iOS came out) that in hindsight were pretty clearly leading up to Forstall being tossed, well before the new Apple maps came out.

Yes, Apple took a beating on it, but they were already taking a beating on the how far behind their old mapping app was.

Not saying Apple Map is a fatal mistake, but to label it as win win is daydreaming on your part. Google wins this round handily.

I would agree that Google benefitted from this situation more than Apple. Users benefitted even more than google, in the end, as they now have both options.


Yes they got egg on their face and took a beating in PR, but that will eventually fade. Apple had a google provided mapping solution that was falling way behind in a critical area on their OS. Now they have their own, which will improve over time and one that is more modular so they can swap backend providers in and out (much like Siri) and not be tied and beholden to one company that will never have their best interests in mind (nor should they). The mapping issues didn't seem to hurt their sales, their own mapping app is improving and gives them more operating freedom and control and their users have a high quality alternative from google if they want. Doesn't sound like a terrible loss for Apple and actually an over all win. Their users win and google wins too.

win-win

[desidealer49]

Meh, may be it is because i don't live in England or Australia, but after comparing gmaps on S3 and apple maps on iPhone 5 side by side every where i have gone, i have no real incentive to load google maps on the iPhone /shrug.

[flyz]

Google maps is just better .... Just deal with it.

No one is better than Apple.

[ceredon]

Meh, may be it is because i don't live in England or Australia, but after comparing gmaps on S3 and apple maps on iPhone 5 side by side every where i have gone, i have no real incentive to load google maps on the iPhone /shrug.

I like streetview, so I grabbed it. It's a good app. Same as you, I haven't had a problem with the Apple maps, so I'll continue to use those primarily. I like having multiple options and have always had a few third party nav apps, so I never expected I would lose much with Apple's maps and didn't.

[sexyj]

lol @ all the apple fanboys still trying to claim apple maps is fine

[time space]

Details of Google's underhanded dealings are starting to come to light:

What if Google was strong-arming Apple? Google needs to collect user location data to serve up location-based ads, so what if Apple was protecting me by defaulting to not share user data with Google, who has a profit motive to shove their ugly ads in my face? I could see Google saying that’s a deal breaker for them....

Google makes money by selling ads that target us based on the information they collect as we use their services. Apple not wanting to grant such access to Google is easy to understand as well. For one thing, Apple sincerely values the privacy of its users more than Google does. Remember the thing with magazine app subscriptions — where they wanted Apple to provide them with personal information about subscribers, and Apple wouldn’t allow it?

[kieum90]

Details of Google's underhanded dealings are starting to come to light:

So you're saying that because only Apple themselves should sell your data instead of sharing it with Google is a better choice?