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[Marty Chinn]

Of course it is. We know the map data is better in some areas than others.

And none of those areas have Street View which is a downgrade to the previous app, a feature that the OP was talking about, a useful feature used by automatic generated links to the maps app, and a feature that you will no longer be able to use even if you do get a Google Maps app because Apple doesn't allow default apps to be defined. And even if his area is better, outside of maybe China, is there any place where it has been proven the data is better than Google's? Why are we trying to play down the state of Apple Maps when by now it's widely recognized how it stacks up.

 

[dyls]

No it doesn't. If I went to his area where he lived, it would still be shit for me. So him saying it works great in his area implies his area is better than other areas as far as maps working. That's not true.

Works great for me. I find it to be a total upgrade, especially in speed and readability. Traffic is still a little lacking, but I expect that to be fixed pretty damn fast if there are already 100 million devices on iOS6.

 

[mescalineeyes]

I didn't realize Apple included Street View where you live. I thought Street View was gone in iOS6.

I only use turn by turn dude
it's been better than my Galaxy Nexus, even.

Can someone tell me what they use Streetview for? I can't really think of any scenario where that would be useful, except for maybe looking at the destination.

 

[dyls]

And none of those areas have Street View which is a downgrade to the previous app, a feature that the OP was talking about, a useful feature used by automatic generated links to the maps app, and a feature that you will no longer be able to use even if you do get a Google Maps app because Apple doesn't allow default apps to be defined. And even if his area is better, outside of maybe China, is there any place where it has been proven the data is better than Google's? Why are we trying to play down the state of Apple Maps when by now it's widely recognized how it stacks up.

I almost never used Streetview, and when I did I was always underwhelmed. It's another one of those situations where people only like it once it's gone. I remember how I would put in an address and it would show me the middle of the street. It was up to me to figure out which side of the street I wanted to look at, and then it wouldn't quite be what I wanted to look at, so I'd move up or down the street, dealing with the incredibly slow and janky navigation, pressing the arrow button over and over again in an effort to get a useful view.

With the new Yelp integration, as long as I'm looking for a business, I can simply click on the name and a series of pictures show up. In nearly every instance, one of the pictures is of the front of the building, which is all I would use streetview for anyway. This is faster and clearer. And as more businesses catch on, I expect the first picture of a given business will always be the front of the building, which will mean exactly I won't even have to click on the 'photos' tab.

For example, here's a diner I'll be headed to in a few minutes. You really think streetview would be faster or more useful than this, which I accomplished with a single tap?

 

[LCfiner]

the issue is that in many, many areas there is no Yelp review or any picture of the front of the building on the info screen. just a top satellite view. so if you want to see what the building looks like for a visual cue (or any reviews to know about the food), the new Maps gives you nothing to work with.

it's all about lack of data compared to the old Maps system. In my experience, it's much more limited than google maps info. (plus there are more outright errors in the new maps POI data)

 

[dallow_bg]

We're dismissing StreetView now?
Wow.

I always used it for unfamiliar places just to see the surrounding area, not just the destination, and how the street intersections worked for the more uncommon places.

 

[LCfiner]

We're dismissing StreetView now?
Wow.

I always used it for unfamiliar places just to see the surrounding area, not just the destination, and how the street intersections worked for the more uncommon places.

I know. I mean, I can understand that not everyone needs it but I'm always surprised by how other people can't understand how or why anyone else would use it.

it's always been very useful for me to help with orientation in new areas.

 

[Tobor]

Turn by turn completely invalidates street view for me.

I haven't used it for anything in years.

I get that others like it, I just have no need for it. No use for flyover either. They are both novelties to me. Turn by turn is essential.

 

[dallow_bg]

I know. I mean, I can understand that not everyone needs it but I'm always surprised by how other people can't understand how or why anyone else would use it.

it's always been very useful for me to help with orientation in new areas.

Saved me much time recently when I drove to Austin because I found a street parking lot close to the theatre by just "driving" down StreetView looking at what was nearby.

Turn by turn would not have worked in this case because I can't park at the theatre itself, and these cheap street lots don't show up in maps, google or otherwise.

 

[Cipherr]

We're dismissing StreetView now?
Wow.

Mmmmhmmm starting to borderline on ridiculous now.

"Yeah but how often do you use street view?"

I have seen a variation of that statement quite a bit lately. Comparing Yelp coverage and pictures with its super spotty and limited coverage to Street View which is pretty goddamn prominent worldwide is the very peak of ridiculous.

Nevermind the fact that the streetview data is such a huge portion of the data collection that does things like get speed limits right and recognizes parking lots. All of that stuff feeds right back into Google maps and makes the data set much more complete and accurate. And you can't mimic that by 'buying' data from some company. You either have boots on the ground to get this information or you don't. And pretty much every poll I have seen shows Street Views usage is higher in the U.S than most anywhere..... So yeah, people use it.

 

[buhdeh]

We're dismissing StreetView now?
Wow.

Of course. Now that Apple's removed it, it's "does anyone even use street view? it's so dumbbbbbbb"

 

[Jarmel]

God I want that Google map app so bad now.

 

[buhdeh]

Can someone tell me what they use Streetview for? I can't really think of any scenario where that would be useful, except for maybe looking at the destination.

Confirming that the location data is actually correct (it's rarely ever wrong but I always double check to make sure, especially when going into downtown districts), clarifying confusing ass roads (like ones near airports or universities), checking out the parking situation of some area, HAVING A REAL POINT OF REFERENCE AS TO WHERE YOU SHOULD BE (big one for me), scoping out unfamiliar areas - for instance, I was looking at hotels to stay in for my vacation and would have never known how sketchy some of them were if I couldn't get a gauge on how the surrounding area looked like.

 

[Tobor]

Of course. Now that Apple's removed it, it's "does anyone even use street view? it's so dumbbbbbbb"

That's ridiculous bullshit. If I used it, I would say so. It's useless to me, as is Apple's flyover.

Here's a critiscism of iOS 6: I use iTunes Match and I'm not happy at all with the changes made to it. It's been a pain getting my music downloaded.

I will absolutely criticize Apple where warranted, and anyone who says otherwise can kiss my cover flow.

 

[Blackhead]

What kind of notifications?

Because I downloaded a pack of alerts that uses Siri to notify me what notification I have. If I get an email, she will say, "New Email Received", or for a text, "New Text Message Received", etc.

Just assigned the alerts in Settings -> Sounds like any other ring tone or alert and its great.

I don't remember where I got them from, I think MacRumors.

thanks but that's not exactly what I'm looking for. I want Siri to read the text of my notifications as they come in.

Turn by turn completely invalidates street view for me.

I haven't used it for anything in years.

I get that others like it, I just have no need for it. No use for flyover either. They are both novelties to me. Turn by turn is essential.

if turn by turn is so essential why didn't you switch to Android or Symbian years ago?

 

[Tobor]

thanks but that's not exactly what I'm looking for. I want Siri to read the text of my notifications as they come in.
if turn by turn is so essential why didn't you switch to Android or Symbian years ago?

I used a third party turn by turn app.

 

[Cipherr]

Confirming that the location data is actually correct (it's rarely ever wrong but I always double check to make sure, especially when going into downtown districts), clarifying confusing ass roads (like ones near airports or universities), checking out the parking situation of some area, HAVING A REAL POINT OF REFERENCE AS TO WHERE YOU SHOULD BE (big one for me), scoping out unfamiliar areas - for instance, I was looking at hotels to stay in for my vacation and would have never known how sketchy some of them were if I couldn't get a gauge on how the surrounding area looked like.

This. Its this kind of thing that makes it useful. Its the difference between this:

And this:

Its very useful information. Especially when you are headed to a location you are not already familiar with. Being able to swing around and go up and down streets at will looking at any and everything has a much higher value than a single, super zoomed, letterboxed, snapshot (assuming Yelp even has coverage of your destination address), and its very useful. So much so that I really wonder how we are having this conversation.

 

[Face it Tiger..]

Supposedly there is a new update for Apple TV.

 

[bro1]

Maps works fine in Charleston, SC.

 

[Blackhead]

Nice, Chrome and photon browser updates for iPhone 5. Photon also updated, since the last time I used an iOS device, with a popup blocker for flash mode. That makes certain streaming sites semi-useable.

I used a third party turn by turn app.

So how is apple's turn by turn an improvement on that if its got the wrong data and is sending you to the wrong location? At best it's the same turn by turn from Tom Tom you already had. Not sure what the point of the trade off is, nice colors and green signs? Others lost their used feature entirely, you got an alternative turn by turn client from Apple. Why rag on other iPhone users?

 

[Tobor]

Supposedly there is a new update for Apple TV.

AirPlay support means you can now stream audio content from your Apple TV directly to your AirPlay-enabled speakers and devices, including AirPort Express and other Apple TVs.

You can also now save login credentials to multiple iTunes accounts – switching between them as you so wish – and iOS 5.1 also allows you to view movie trailers, offering local theater showing times for consumers residing in the USA.

Woah. Awesome stuff.

 

[Vyer]

We're dismissing StreetView now?
Wow.
.

Mmmmhmmm starting to borderline on ridiculous now.

"Yeah but how often do you use street view?"
.

Of course. Now that Apple's removed it, it's "does anyone even use street view? it's so dumbbbbbbb"

If some people found no use in Streetview it's not that far fetched. People have different needs, it happens. Put your swords down.

Personally I loved it and I'd much rather have it over flyover. But in all honesty I didn't use it with any regularity, so it's not that hard to believe others didn't use it at all.

 

[Tobor]

So how is apple's turn by turn an improvement on that if its got the wrong data and is sending you to the wrong location? At best it's the same turn by turn from Tom Tom you already had. Not sure what the point of the trade off is, nice colors and green signs? Others lost their used feature entirely, you got an alternative turn by turn client from Apple. Why rag on other iPhone users?

I'm not ragging on anyone except those accusing me of changing an opinion I've held for years, that street view is a novelty.

As for why Apples implementation is an improvement, it's simple. A feature I didn't use has been reduced to non-default, and a feature I use constantly is now default and free. That's a win for me.

 

[Cipherr]

If some people found no use in Streetview it's not that far fetched. People have different needs, it happens. Put your swords down.

Personally I loved it and I'd much rather have it over flyover. But in all honesty I didn't use it with any regularity, so it's not that hard to believe others didn't use it at all.

Not one of us ever said or claimed that everyone used Streetview. I even posted a link that very clearly says not everyone does, so Im not sure where you are coming from with that. We challenged the idea that it has little to no use outside of giving you a snapshot of the front of a building. Noone here claimed 100% of maps users used it.

 

[dyls]

Its very useful information. Especially when you are headed to a location you are not already familiar with. Being able to swing around and go up and down streets at will looking at any and everything has a much higher value than a single, super zoomed, letterboxed, snapshot (assuming Yelp even has coverage of your destination address), and its very useful. So much so that I really wonder how we are having this conversation.

Maybe it's smooth and nice on Android, but on an iPhone 4, any sort of motion besides simply turning in place was slow and tedious. I would love for anyone to argue that point with me. Press the arrow -> checkerboard -> slowly fill in picture -> you've only moved three feet, have to press it again -> repeat above three times -> get annoyed and press arrow twenty times quickly -> crash.

I'm not arguing that people don't have a use for it, or that it's wonderful that it's gone. It's just that the people that are having the problems are getting the only voices, and seem to consider those of us who actually like the new app to be liars or idiots. I'm trying to give the other side for any sort of balance. For ME, for where I live and for what I need, this new app is better than the old. Am I the only person on the planet? No. But neither are you. (not you directly, just the people who are making huge blanket statements for the entire iPhone-owning world.)

 

[Mairu]

I never used Street View on my phone, but I use it occasionally on the desktop maps.google.com

What I did use on my phone was transit directions, all the time. It's going to suck having to download a new app for every new area I need transit directions for, Google Maps was simple as it had everything.

 

[mescalineeyes]

I am sorry didn't see immediately what Street view was for, but now that you guys have provided examples of why it is useful to you I see how it might be detrimental to the enjoyment of your phone.
Except all of you own Androids, so why is this so upsetting to you again?

If you absolutely need to have an iPhone and you also can't live without stteetview, I don't see what's stopping you from using maps.Google.com for the time being when you have to do research this extensive about thr places you are going.

 

[Blackhead]

I am sorry didn't see immediately what Street view was for, but now that you guys have provided examples of why it is useful to you I see how it might be detrimental to the enjoyment of your phone.
Except all of you own Androids, so why is this so upsetting to you again?

If you absolutely need to have an iPhone and you also can't live without stteetview, I don't see what's stopping you from using maps.Google.com for the time being when you have to do research this extensive about thr places you are going.

In before mrkgoo, lcfiner kicks your ass

 

[criesofthepast]

God I want that Google map app so bad now.

The biggest thing that will suck is no way to make it the system default. My biggest gripe right now with iOS is not being able to set apps as system default and ability to at least hide apps.

As well as quick reply to texts (like jailbroken bitesms app) but I won't hold my breathe for any of these very fucking basic functions coming soon.

Oh and I ran into my first instance today of not getting proper transit details from apples stupid maps recommended transit app. So I'm already feeling the loss of googles transit system.

 

[IHaveCandy]

I can honestly say I rarely ever used street view. It didn't serve much purpose for me, but I can definitely see how it benefited others. I think Apple sees their own map solution as a long-term project though. I'd rather Apple work on making their own than use Google's map with limited features like no turn-by-turn.

 

[tmdorsey]

As well as quick reply to texts (like jailbroken bitesms app) but I won't hold my breathe for any of these very fucking basic functions coming soon.

Swiping the notification icon from lock screen or tapping the banner notification seem pretty quick to me.

 

[Shanks]

It seems my screen stays on if I'm playing music now. I used to just drop it in my pocket and it would turn off in a minute but now it just stays there no matter the screen timeout setting.

 

[buhdeh]

I am sorry didn't see immediately what Street view was for, but now that you guys have provided examples of why it is useful to you I see how it might be detrimental to the enjoyment of your phone.
Except all of you own Androids, so why is this so upsetting to you again?

If you absolutely need to have an iPhone and you also can't live without stteetview, I don't see what's stopping you from using maps.Google.com for the time being when you have to do research this extensive about thr places you are going.

lol @ the paradoxal_utopia defence.

did you want me to post pictures of my iPad 3 as proof before I can talk about why a feature that got removed is upsetting?

 

[LCfiner]

I am sorry didn't see immediately what Street view was for, but now that you guys have provided examples of why it is useful to you I see how it might be detrimental to the enjoyment of your phone.
Except all of you own Androids, so why is this so upsetting to you again?

If you absolutely need to have an iPhone and you also can't live without stteetview, I don't see what's stopping you from using maps.Google.com for the time being when you have to do research this extensive about thr places you are going.

I'm mildly upset because it's worrying to me that Apple saw fit to release the Maps app in this state, with the issues it has with POI info. I never expected Apple to directly replace streetview on their own but I did expect Apple to have better, more reliable info on businesses and landmarks worldwide.

For iphone 4 users, it's a clear step back. For 4S owners, who now gain turn by turn built in, but may still have issues actually finding things in the app depending on where they live, it's more of a mixed bag.

Here's what I am dyyyiiiing to know. I want to know how the negotiations went with Apple and Google regarding Maps. did Google stonewall Apple for the right to use their maps for turn by turn? Did Apple just shut off Google as soon as they could because of Android competition? I'd love to know how we ended up with this Maps situation now.

edit: and I haven't even touched on the transit stuff. I don't use public transportation but the way it's handled now is a much worse situation for lots of people who do.

 

[bonesquad]

I think Apple sees their own map solution as a long-term project though. I'd rather Apple work on making their own than use Google's map with limited features like no turn-by-turn.

Not me. With the change I not only lost street view but also traffic data and transportation schedules. I gained one feature I might use at some point versus losing three I know I already used. It's a huge step back for me. I don't care if maps were already 5 years in the making, they still needed more time.

While the change might not be horrible to some, I really don't know how anyone can defend this change from an end user perspective.

 

[Cipherr]

I am sorry didn't see immediately what Street view was for, but now that you guys have provided examples of why it is useful to you I see

That's all we were saying from the start. Nothing more.

Except all of you own Androids, so why is this so upsetting to you again?

First off, you are wrong about that. Second, what does which phone I own have to do with whether or not I can see/understand what use Street view can be to people?

I'm mildly upset because it's worrying to me that Apple saw fit to release the Maps app in this state, with the issues it has with POI info. I never expected Apple to directly replace streetview on their own but I did expect Apple to have better, more reliable info on businesses and landmarks worldwide.

For iphone 4 users, it's a clear step back. For 4S owners, who now gain turn by turn built in, but may still have issues actually finding things in the app depending on where they live, it's more of a mixed bag.

Here's what I am dyyyiiiing to know. I want to know how the negotiations went with Apple and Google regarding Maps. did Google stonewall Apple for the right to use their maps for turn by turn? Did Apple just shut off Google as soon as they could because of Android competition? I'd love to know how we ended up with this Maps situation now.

edit: and I haven't even touched on the transit stuff. I don't use public transportation but the way it's handled now is a much worse situation for lots of people who do.

I would like to know too. You could tell Google was shocked that Apple didnt renew their licensing with them. The Verge talked about this on the Vergecast. Out of nowhere with like 3 days notice Google sent all the tech sites invitations to that horrible awful fucking 'Google Maps Presentation' they held earlier this year where they showed off the crashing beta of Google Earth Flyover. They said it was obviously a last minute thing that Google did out of shock that Apple probably let them know they wouldnt be refreshing their Maps contract in favor of making their own.

 

[IHaveCandy]

Apple couldn't just keep Maps baking internally forever. There is a huge advantage by having millions of people using the Map apps for data correction. Google would have never been able to get Google Maps so accurate without going through a few years of users using it to help find errors. There is no going around it. Apple had to do this at some point if they wanted to start doing their own app solution. As a customer, it sucks for the time being, but it will get better. For now use the google maps web app until their iOS app releases and just wait for Apple's map to improve.

 

[Tobor]

Apple has purchased multiple mapping companies over the last few years. There is no way Google could have been shocked by this.

 

[forknknife]

What the fuck are some of you guys smoking, Streetview is a godsend. I cannot even count the number of times that it has proven useful for me, it's one of those things that you now take for granted but it seems that many of you have no limits when it comes to bash google (not saying there are not things to bash them for, but Streetview?). Had Apple invented streetview I wonder what some of you might be saying about the service.

And I like apple products too.

 

[Vyer]

Not one of us ever said or claimed that everyone used Streetview. I even posted a link that very clearly says not everyone does, so Im not sure where you are coming from with that. We challenged the idea that it has little to no use outside of giving you a snapshot of the front of a building. Noone here claimed 100% of maps users used it.

It's not so ridiculous that some who never use it would dismiss it. Logically that's probably the most likely group that would. Likewise it doesn't have to be just more fanboy excuses, as was also suggested.

This whole discussion started because it could not be accepted that someone could find that maps worked well *for them*, because no street view. As your reasoning above points out, there's no logic to that.

 

[Cipherr]

Apple has purchased multiple mapping companies over the last few years. There is no way Google could have been shocked by this.

I don't think Google was shocked that they were working on their own Mapping solution. I think Google was shocked that Apple was confident in its status so much that they would break off of Google so soon and go with their own implementation. If you look at Apples history for debuting stuff, I think Google was right to be worried that Apple would pull a Houdini and completely match Google Maps implementation and features after only a few years of working on the project.

That random Google Maps seminar was just waaaaay to random and out of nowhere. And it was timed right before Apple debuted what everyone knew to be their own mapping system.

 

[IHaveCandy]

What the fuck are some of you guys smoking, Streetview is a godsend. I cannot even count the number of times that it has proven useful for me, it's one of those things that you now take for granted but it seems that many of you have no limits when it comes to bash google (not saying there are not things to bash them for, but Streetview?). Had Apple invented streetview I wonder what some of you might be saying about the service.

And I like apple products too.

I didn't use streetview much. I always just used directions and let the pin tell me where the place is. Once you're there, it's not really hard to find the place.

 

[MajorPain]

Why not just use maps.google.com?

I am new to this thread so if this has already been mentioned I apologize.

 

[buhdeh]

It's not so ridiculous that some who never use it would dismiss it. Logically that's probably the most likely group that would. Likewise it doesn't have to be just more fanboy excuses, as was also suggested.

This whole discussion started because it could not be accepted that someone could find that maps worked well *for them*, because no street view. As your reasoning above points out, there's no logic to that.

I thought it was cause people claimed that street view was useless (ok LESS useful than Apple's/Yelp's "implementation"), that no one actually cared about/used street view and that people are only complaining about it now cause it's gone.

I almost never used Streetview, and when I did I was always underwhelmed. It's another one of those situations where people only like it once it's gone. I remember how I would put in an address and it would show me the middle of the street. It was up to me to figure out which side of the street I wanted to look at, and then it wouldn't quite be what I wanted to look at, so I'd move up or down the street, dealing with the incredibly slow and janky navigation, pressing the arrow button over and over again in an effort to get a useful view.

...

For example, here's a diner I'll be headed to in a few minutes. You really think streetview would be faster or more useful than this, which I accomplished with a single tap?

 

[Cipherr]

It's not so ridiculous that some who never use it would dismiss it.

You are leaving something very crucial to this discussion (that has already ended btw) so let me help you.

It's not so ridiculous that some who never use it would dismiss it as having little to no use/utility at all.

Once you add that, it does actually become ridiculous, whether you have used it or not. We then went and explained our own uses for it, and explained how it could benefit people and travelers. And then:

I am sorry didn't see immediately what Street view was for, but now that you guys have provided examples of why it is useful to you I see

Was posted; Which is all anyone was trying to say. The discussion was never about how many people use Streetview versus the number of people who don't or never will. You are pulling that out of thin air, or you are talking to someone other than me. The discussion was about whether or not SV has genuine use, utility and value for some people. It very clearly does.

And I never called anyone a fanboy either.

 

[SeanR1221]

Tobor sometimes makes me embarrassed to be an Apple fan :/

New maps were off with a new client I had today. Glad my car has navigation built in.

 

[forknknife]

I didn't use streetview much. I always just used directions and let the pin tell me where the place is. Once you're there, it's not really hard to find the place.

Yeah, well, to be fair, I used it much more when I did not have a smartphone with gps but still, it's really great to be able to "travel" somewhere and explore an area before you even left home.

For example, when I am looking for a new apartment and I see an ad I can just go there and virtually visit the area without moving from my house or wherever I am at that moment. THAT has incalculable value to me.

If people are just not interested in streetview as a GPS service.... well, it still does not make sense to me because that is not its purpose! lol

 

[giga]

If you have your gmail setup as imap, hold down the archive icon to get quick access to delete.

 

[Uno Venova]

there's my megaton, i was annoyed only being able to archive.

 

[chickdigger802]

Even woz is a tad disappointed with maps

http://www.bgr.com/2012/09/24/ios-6-maps-criticism-steve-wozniak-disappointed/