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iOS 6 |OT| New Maps? googy pls

T

Talon

Member
Streetview's a great feature, but I don't consider it a dealbreaker at this point. Even when I go to a new place, I don't find myself using Streetview as much. I don't know what exactly changed.

Case in point, I was driving around San Francisco for the first time in ages, and I didn't find a need for it.
 
W

Wario64

works for Gamestop (lol)
Podcast app..finally. I hope you can subscribe, lol

I bet it's not better than Downcast though

UI kinda sucks.

cmWl2.png
 
C

CrunchinJelly

formerly cjelly
Hmm, it just seems like it's the iTunes Store + Subscriptions + Tweaked audio controls.

Do Subs auto-download? Doesn't seem to be any option to add external feeds. Hmm.

Wario64 said:
Podcast app..finally. I hope you can subscribe, lol

I bet it's not better than Downcast though
Click to expand...

Nothing will beat Downcast.
 
W

Windu

never heard about the cat, apparently
can you manually put in a podcast (RSS feed) or do you have to get all of your podcasts through iTunes? Using Downcast at the moment.
 
M

Marty Chinn

Member
Gary Whitta said:
Oh man, so excited for Passbook. Definitely the killer app in iOS6.
Click to expand...

I don't think it's that big of a killer app. It's a novelty at best because it'll depend on what's supporter, at what locations it's supported at, how reliable it is, how fast it is, and realistically trying to convince people to give up their wallet. I think it's going to be hard to push people in that direction any time soon despite how cool the tech is. It'll probably be like Siri but even less popular and useful in feasibility.

Talon- said:
Streetview's a great feature, but I don't consider it a dealbreaker at this point. Even when I go to a new place, I don't find myself using Streetview as much. I don't know what exactly changed.

Case in point, I was driving around San Francisco for the first time in ages, and I didn't find a need for it.
Click to expand...

I still find it great for travel on vacation. Used it a ton in Europe and in Hawaii when planning out the day on an iPad.

I used to think Google maps in general was a deal breaker, and it may still well be depending on how this turns out. I've definitely said in the past if they get rid of Google maps, I'll probably leave Apple over it because I felt Google maps was such a great and useful product and the way it was integrated was one of the core reasons I went with the iPhone to begin with. I'm warming up to it not being a deal breaker, but I really need to see how the first iteration of Apple's solution is before I make that decision. I'm not completely in love with what they're showing so far as I think it's inferior to Google maps, but I also understand they can't get it perfect on the first try.


ivedoneyourmom said:
It's pretty unrealistic of people to expect feature parity out of a beta with a competing mature product, even if we do think highly of Apple.
Click to expand...

It is unrealistic, but at the same time, from a user's perspective, they shouldn't have to understand that excuse because in the end, they're getting functionality and quality taken away from them because of a rift Apple has with Google. The consumer is being hurt for the near future in many ways.
 
T

Tobor

Member
Marty Chinn said:
You mean scheduled background downloading right? Everything has background downloading now.
Click to expand...

Right. That's what I meant. I have to remember to open up Downcast each morning or they don't update.

I'm assuming this app can do that. If not, then it really has no benefit over downcast.
 
M

Macho Madness

Member
I have no loyalty to Downcast. It works, but it's not perfect by any means. If the official Podcast app had the ability to add RSS feeds and the ability for subscription-based casts, I'd use it just for the automatic downloads. As it stands without the ability though? Totally useless to me. Weird how just one or two features can make or break an app for me.
 
R

renitou

Member
Is the Podcasts app interface lagging or hitching for anyone else? It's especially noticeable when using the scrubber to move through the podcast; it's position lags behind my finger movement and jerks across the screen with none of the usual smoothness found in the Music app. Same issue with adjusting the volume slider or pulling up/down the "curtain" to access the additional controls.

This kind of stuttering feels really out of place in iOS.
 
S

Sean

Banned
Tobor said:
It looks like it will download as soon as it hits the iTunes server? Not sure.
Click to expand...

App Store apps aren't allowed to do scheduled downloading though as far as I know. I guess Apple could always make an exception for their own app, but that'd probably piss off all the third party devs.
 
K

KingKong

Member
ok, I found the option to subscribe to each podcast and download new episodes, but is there a global option to do it?

also, is there an option to transfer my iTunes podcast subscriptions to it? and does it automatically sync them? (so I download an episode and listen to it, when I come home and check for new episodes it won't get that one again)
 
T

Tobor

Member
Sean said:
App Store apps aren't allowed to do scheduled downloading though as far as I know. I guess Apple could always make an exception for their own app, but that'd probably piss off all the third party devs.
Click to expand...

They've already made an exception for Newstand apps. No reason they wouldn't do it for their own app as well.
 
SuperPac

SuperPac

Member
Tobor said:
It looks like it will download as soon as it hits the iTunes server? Not sure.
Click to expand...

The "problem" with that in my experience is that there's a lag between the time a podcast episode is posted via the show RSS and the time it appears in iTunes. So it'll be interesting to see how this works and whether they've improved that lag.

I love Downcast, it's gonna take a great app to tear me away from that.
 
M

Marty Chinn

Member
Tobor said:
Right. That's what I meant. I have to remember to open up Downcast each morning or they don't update.

I'm assuming this app can do that. If not, then it really has no benefit over downcast.
Click to expand...

I will be quite happy if it has that. I hate having to remember to open the app to download to make sure I have the latest. Sometimes I get in my car and realize I haven't done it yet and now I'm at the mercy of AT&T. I wonder how breaking this out into a separate app will affect my car though. Right now it's iPod mode gets music, audiobooks and podcasts. Would having it now a separate app no longer make that data available to my car?

Is Downcast the new preferred podcast app? It used to be Instacast, but the interface has one really annoying design about it that bugs me.

bananas said:
Instacast is the best podcast app on the iPhone. I don't know why everyone seems to like Downcast better than it.
Click to expand...

I'll gladly take something that doesn't have that one annoying extra click to play the episode. Really annoying, especially when driving.
 
R

rezuth

Member
Marty Chinn said:
I don't think it's that big of a killer app. It's a novelty at best because it'll depend on what's supporter, at what locations it's supported at, how reliable it is, how fast it is, and realistically trying to convince people to give up their wallet. I think it's going to be hard to push people in that direction any time soon despite how cool the tech is. It'll probably be like Siri but even less popular and useful in feasibility.
Click to expand...

Thats not the reason I'm excited really. The ability to just easily swipe my phone to check in at airports, enter the movies etc is a lot more exciting.

Will download the Podcast app, kinda enjoying that UI.
 
S

Sean

Banned
Tobor said:
They've already made an exception for Newstand apps. No reason they wouldn't do it for their own app as well.
Click to expand...

Newsstand is built into the OS though, isn't it? The magazines are on the app store, but the actual app that fetches and auto-downloads them is part of the core OS meaning it's exempt from App Store rules.

At least I think that's how it works.
 
K

KingKong

Member
I gotta say this is a pretty shoddy looking app, the skeuomorphism is out of control (the weird panel with turtle to rabbit option is just...uhhh what)
 
C

CrunchinJelly

formerly cjelly
bananas said:
I know that's an advantage to having to buy two apps, but the UI in Instacast is just better.
Click to expand...

It's more the fact that people only download one app.

If someone says 'What's the best podcast app?' someone will reply with Instacast or Downcast.

Once you have downloaded one there is no need to download the other. Thus, people recommend either Instacast or Downcast because there is no reason to look any further.
 
T

Tobor

Member
KingKong said:
I gotta say this is a pretty shoddy looking app, the skeuomorphism is out of control (the weird panel with turtle to rabbit option is just...uhhh what)
Click to expand...

Haha, I love the skeuomorph stuff. You can even see the tape reels turning behind the podcast logo.

Sean said:
Newsstand is built into the OS though, isn't it? The magazines are on the app store, but the actual app that fetches and auto-downloads them is part of the core OS meaning it's exempt from App Store rules.

At least I think that's how it works.
Click to expand...

Honestly, none of this really matters. It's Apple's app, they can use all the private api's if they want.
 
S

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
RE: Wallets.

Here's what I have in my wallet:
Driver's License <-- I have no idea why I can't use my phone for this.
Costco Membership <-- 1D Barcode
Gas Card (-2 cents a litre!) <-- Magnetic stripe
Debit Card <-- Magnetic stripe+chip
Credit Card <-- Magnetic stripe+chip + NFC (Could be co-opted if Passbook adds NFC)
Ten year old high school graduation photo of my girlfriend <-- could be replaced by phone lock screen now

Apple won't be able to make my wallet thinner unless they manage to kill off my wallet altogether. Which I hope they do. Carrying a wallet sounds like something peasants did in the 1480s.
 
G

giga

Member
Marty Chinn said:
I'll gladly take something that doesn't have that one annoying extra click to play the episode. Really annoying, especially when driving.
Click to expand...
Yes, this is my main annoyance with Instacast. It's a very nice looking app, but having to tap three times to play a new episode is ridiculous. Tapping on the episode should instantly start it--not give me another screen showing the episode info.

This new Podcasts app only requires two taps to play an episode, by the way. Tap the podcast -> tap the episode -> plays immediately. If you want to go to the episode info, you have to tap the "i" button on the right side of each episode.

mJynz.png
 
C

CrunchinJelly

formerly cjelly
Stumpokapow said:
RE: Wallets.

Here's what I have in my wallet:
Driver's License <-- I have no idea why I can't use my phone for this.
Costco Membership <-- 1D Barcode
Gas Card (-2 cents a litre!) <-- Magnetic stripe
Debit Card <-- Magnetic stripe+chip
Credit Card <-- Magnetic stripe+chip + NFC (Could be co-opted if Passbook adds NFC)
Ten year old high school graduation photo of my girlfriend <-- could be replaced by phone lock screen now

Apple won't be able to make my wallet thinner unless they manage to kill off my wallet altogether. Which I hope they do. Carrying a wallet sounds like something peasants did in the 1480s.
Click to expand...

Completely agree. I haven't used cash for years and years. Use my CC for everything.

It'd also be nice to reclaim my keys from the mountain of store key fobs attached.

Edit: why do people not use the quote tag to resize iOS screens?! :( they're huge... just stick them in quotes!
 
N

numble

Member
Google Maps / Apple Maps at different zoom levels for a mostly feature-complete city, this is more of a aesthetic/cartographic comparison. Click for full-size.













 
M

Marty Chinn

Member
giga said:
Yes, this is my main annoyance with Instacast. It's a very nice looking app, but having to tap three times to play a new episode is ridiculous. Tapping on the episode should instantly start it--not give me another screen showing the episode info.

This new Podcasts app only requires two taps to play an episode, by the way. Tap the podcast -> tap the episode -> plays immediately. If you want to go to the episode info, you have to tap the "i" button on the right side of each episode.

mJynz.png
Click to expand...

Is there a way to list just all unplayed eps? Glad someone agrees with me on Instacast.


numble said:
Google Maps / Apple Maps at different zoom levels for a mostly feature-complete city, this is more of a aesthetic/cartographic comparison. Click for full-size.
Click to expand...

That looks pretty bad. I think this is going to be really rough around the edges and lack a lot of polish even by the time iOS6 launches. This transition is going to be pretty annoying.
 
T

Talon

Member
bananas said:
I know that's an advantage to having to buy two apps, but the UI in Instacast is just better.
Click to expand...
I made my decision based on the iPad UI. I did a fair amount of research into both those apps, and Downcast appeared better to me - more consistent with the iPhone application.

And I've had no problems with Downcast at all other than not updating in the background - that's sort of out of the dev's hands though, as I understand.
 
K

KingKong

Member
the Top Stations on the Podcast app is just...ughhhh

also it seems to not load podcast artwork, it did the first time I tried it but now they're all just the blank default icons
 
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