Showing posts with label Maps. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maps. Show all posts
Friday, March 1, 2013
Friday, December 28, 2012
Apple Maps: 3 Times More Likely to Get You Lost Than Google
11:30:00 AM
valgeo
For iPhone users, Google Maps is back. The revamped app, launched last week, is being downloaded in the tens of millions. As a result, iOS6 activations are on the rise. And Apple finally has the breathing room it needs to overhaul its much maligned Maps app, the default on the platform.
But just how much of a hill does Apple still have to climb in order to compete? Quite a steep one. It is three times more likely to lead you on a wild goose chase than its rival, according to a study provided exclusively to Mashable.
To test how Maps stacks up against Google's (and Bing's) offerings, the online workforce company CrowdFlower picked a random 1,000 business listings in the U.S., and another 100 in the U.K. For each listing, the company was looking for two things: whether you could find it on each of the three mapping services, and if so, whether the results were accurate.
This chart shows results for the first part of the equation:
Apple's performance was the worst of the three mapping services, with only 75% of listings found in the U.S. experiment, and a surprising 50% missing in the U.K. But things get worse for the Cupertino company when you look at just listings found. What percentage were shown in the wrong place?
Fully one third of U.K. listings are inaccurately placed, making Apple Maps pretty much unusable in that country. But even in the U.S., where the error rates are much lower, Apple Maps gets the location wrong 3.4% of the time -- three times Google's error rate of 1.1% and Bing's error rate of 1.3%.
Still, CrowdFlower lead product manager Lukas Bergstrom gives Apple Maps a pass for now. "Local data is hard," he says. "Small businesses are closing and starting up all the time. And Apple is just getting into this game. We'll be very interested to see how their data improves over time."
Do CrowdFlower's results match your experience with the various mapping apps? Let us know in the comments.
Source : mashable
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Google Maps for iOS surpassed 10M downloads in less than 48 hours
8:25:00 AM
valgeo
It's official: Google Maps for iOS is a huge hit.
Jeff Huber, senior vice president of commerce and local at Google, revealed on his Google+ page on Monday that the new mapping app experienced more than 10 million downloads in less than 48 hours.
"We're excited for the positive reception of Google Maps for iPhone around the world," Huber continued. "Congratulations to the Maps Team on the recognition for the passion and hard work they poured into it, for this release and over the last 7+ years."
Google Maps for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad debuted late last Wednesday.
The launch of the app follows the firestorm this past fall surrounding Apple's beleaguered efforts to release its own mapping platform. Complaints ranged from inaccurate directions to completely erroneous locations altogether.
Apple CEO Tim Cook apologized for the problems, admitting that the Cupertino, Calif.-based company "fell short" with the new mapping platform included in iOS 6.
The iPhone maker followed up by highlighting alternative mapping apps in the App Store, and it was only a matter of time before Google trotted out its own.
For iOS users who still don't have the app but want to download it, Google Maps for iOS is available for free from iTunes now.
Source : zdnet
Friday, December 14, 2012
It's Not Me, It's You: A Breakup Letter to Apple Maps
8:24:00 AM
valgeo
Dear Apple Maps,
We've had a good run, you and I. So many memories. Remember that time we didn't get lost? Thank you for all those great turn-by-turn directions in your Siri voice. Good times.
I've got something difficult to tell you, but we'll get through this. Inside, I think we both knew this day was coming. You see, I met another Maps app last night. No, not another one of those inferior replacements I kept trying before crawling back to you. This is the real deal.
Its name? You don't have to ask me that. You know its name. You took its last name when you moved in so unceremoniously a couple months ago. I'm not going to say its first name; remember how upset you got last time I used the G-word?
Look, you're a fine mapping application, and I've grown used to you. Really, I have. You're still my favorite when it comes to turn-by-turn. Even the way you slip into 3D mode when I'm just trying to zoom in doesn't annoy me that much any more.
We haven't had that many problems getting home since I told you I didn't live in a park. (And you know no one really blames you over those tourists in Australia; it turned out the problem was with the local maps themselves, and you should stop beating yourself up about that.)
And you still look fantastic. This isn't about looks. The way your street names grow larger as you zoom out still makes me swoon sometimes. I mean, wow.
But I think it's time we both grew up and realized what a big deal public transit is. Every time I'd ask if we could take the train or bus home, you'd just say "I don't know, ask these other apps." Your company should have raised you better than that, Apple Maps. I need to be with an app that cares about the planet and doesn't just assume everyone drives all the time.
And when I am driving in an unfamiliar place, I need to be with an app I can be sure is telling me the truth about names and directions. When I hit a dead end that's supposed to be a freeway, or call a town "Gonsett" when it's actually "Consett," it's not just a matter of rerouting or reporting the problem. It's the fact that you made me look like a fool. It's about trust.
I don't want to talk too much about the other app, but lets just say this: it worked through its problems. It looks much spiffier. It gives me multiple transit options on the same screen. And it has Street View, Apple Maps. Honest-to-goodness Street View, not just 3D buildings.
So you know I hate to do this to you, especially so close to the holidays. But I'm going to have to move you off the home screen.
It's okay, really. You'll still be there on the iPhone, just on a later screen. And you'll still have pride of place on the iPad; this other app hasn't moved there yet (which makes things a little awkward).
But you know I could never delete you, Apple Maps. I mean literally, I can never delete you. The iOS doesn't allow it.
For now, I think it's best if we only talk via Siri. I'll ask her to take me to an address, she'll call you up, and we'll hang. We'll do turn-by-turn. It'll be fun. Hopefully, we won't get lost.
And then maybe some day, when you've been upgraded, had all your place names checked and understand the need for public transit, maybe we'll run into each other again, and who knows what may happen.
Let's not say goodbye, Apple Maps. Let's just say "you have arrived at your destination."
Source : mashable
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Google Maps returns to iPhone, gives Apple users turn-by-turn navigation ( VIDEO )
8:30:00 AM
valgeo
Once upon a time, Google Maps was an indispensable part of the iPhone experience, faithfully guiding users wherever they needed to go. Then, Apple decided to ditch Google's cartography in favor of it's own mapping system in iOS 6, sending the crowd in Mountain View scrambling to build a standalone solution. Well, tonight, all you iPhone folks can once again get Google telling you where to go (assuming you weren't already using web-based Gmaps), as the much anticipated app has landed in the App Store. The best news? As was foretold, it's brought turn-by-turn navigation along for the ride -- we trust you won't need Google (or us) to tell you where to find the download. There's no iPad-optimized version yet (although it is iPhone 5 ready), hit the source link to download for iPhone now, check out the list of features and intro video after the break.
Update: Having trouble actually snagging it? We've had inconsistent results ourselves, probably due to the sheer number of people trying to access it at once. In the meantime, while you can keep hitting download, you could also take a minute or two off, tweet an "iTunes is using Apple Maps to find the Google Maps app" joke and try again later.
Source : engadget
Monday, October 29, 2012
Google Launches Crisis Map for Hurricane Sandy
2:10:00 PM
valgeo
As Hurricane Sandy moves near the U.S. mid-Atlantic coast, Google is helping those affected prepare for the storm with a dedicated crisis map.
The map tracks Sandy’s path, letting users choose between several layers of information, such as the current location of the storm, forecast track, shelter locations, cloud imagery, public alerts and more.
Google has also launched a special Sandy crisis map for New York City, displaying such info as evacuation zones, evacuation centers and Red Cross emergency shelters.
Sandy is a massive category 1 hurricane, expected to bring life-threatening storm surge to the mid-Atlantic coast, Monday evening and early Tuesday.
Also helping out during the crisis are the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, who have temporarily lifted their paywalls, enabling people to freely get info on Hurricane Sandy.
Source : mashable
Monday, October 1, 2012
How long will it be before iOS 6 Maps kills someone?
4:00:00 PM
valgeo
That is not a hyperbolic question designed to get headlines. It's actually a serious question. Apparently, there are numerous reports of iOS 6 Maps misdirecting users in need of medical care.
Buzzfeed reports that instead of taking a user to a clinic, the maps app took him to a "mobile home estate" next to an abandoned doctors office.
Healthcare IT News reports that users are being directed to hospitals that have been shuttered for years, the new app doesn't show hospitals that currently exist, and is misdirecting patients searching for emergency rooms.
The Star Tribune reports that iOS 6 Maps direct patients to a hospital that was closed in 1985!
This is an epic failure on the part of Apple, and not just because a favorite application has been replaced with a dog. This is also not the case of cranky pundits using Apple as a punching bag.
Rather, this may be a case of criminal negligence. According to West's Encyclopedia of American Law, criminal negligence is "The failure to use reasonable care to avoid consequences that threaten or harm the safety of the public and that are the foreseeable outcome of acting in a particular manner."
Millions of users have no idea that the mapping application changed for the radically worse. They've been relying on iPhone maps for years, and have become quite familiar with the general reliability of the Maps app.
As users, they've been trained that when their phone says "upgrade me," they do the upgrade. Even though many of them have no idea what new features are in iOS 6, they just assumed that there'd be more and better goodies.
There was no warning that the map application went from proven production to barely alpha quality. There was no dialog telling users that they're now using unproven software. There's no warning that tells emergency patients (and their loving families) that they better confirm directions using an alternate source because the map application is borked.
Apple not only betrayed the trust of its customers, it put their lives on the line because the company couldn't be bothered to put up a warning dialog.
Apple has pulled some misguided stunts in the past, but never with this vast potential for grievous harm.
Source : zdnet.com
Friday, September 28, 2012
Apple Maps App Gets Lost on Twitter: Only 10% of Tweets Approve
11:42:00 AM
valgeo
If you thought that the chatter about Apple’s Maps app in iOS 6 was overwhelmingly negative, here’s proof that it wasn’t just the folks in your social stream.
Twitter analysis firm Crimson Hexagon grabbed more than 50,000 tweets that mentioned the Maps app, which comes standard on the iPhone 5, over the last six days. Just 10% of those expressed interest, approval or excitement, such as this review from pastor Charlie Campbell: “I was a little nervous about losing Google maps … but I must say I like Apple’s maps even better.”
If there’s a silver lining for Apple, it’s that only 22% of the tweets expressed an outright hatred of the app. But another 30% cracked jokes at the expense of Maps, such as this from entrepreneur Chris Eh Young: “If you ordered an iPhone 5, shipments are being delayed. Apple is forcing the delivery guys to use Apple Maps.”
The remaining 30% of tweets were neutral, merely passing on news stories or updates about Maps. The full stats:
Crimson Hexagon also examined Twitter sentiment about the iPhone 5 itself, and found a slight weakening of interest in the wake of the record-breaking smartphone launch.
Positive tweets about the phone fell from 38% at launch to 30% now, while negative tweets rose from 11% to 20%. Some 12% of all negative tweets about the iPhone 5 mentioned Maps.
Is the anti-Maps chatter likely to increase or to die down? Give us your prediction in the comments.
Source : mashable
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Google launching Offline Maps for Android mobile users
9:40:00 PM
Unknown
Google Earth Gets 3D Maps of Cities, New UI on iOS and Android
9:28:00 PM
Unknown
Today, Google announced that it will feature 3D models of entire metropolitan areas on mobile devices in Google Earth.
It’s doing so by working on new imagery and rendering techniques, combined with new computer vision tech that automates creation of cityscapes in full 3D. The 3D rendering will...
