Scott Rafer responding to Anil Dash’s iOS 6 Maps rage:
What’s missing from this conversation is that map usage is critical. Regardless of Google’s PR success in the Atlantic’s unintentionally misleading Google Ground Truth infomercial, more than half of Google’s mobile map usage is going away in the next month or two. I love the Atlantic, but they got punkd. Usage makes maps better a lot faster than software does.
Rafer knows this space well as he’s right in the middle of it. For all the bluster about Maps in iOS 6, I’m surprised how little has been mentioned about the fact that this change is bad for Google too. Really bad.
As Rafer notes about Apple:
They need to stop making Google’s maps better, which is what they’ve been doing moment-in and moment-out for years.
Google had tens of million of iPhones and iPads and iPod touches working for them to bolster Google Maps until this morning with the launch of iOS 6. And not just in the Maps app, through the iOS SDK as well. Make no mistake, the change is going to have negative side effects on Google as well. Which is why I expect them to still make a Google Maps iOS app.
[via John Gruber]
What do you do when you fork Android and as such, can’t get access to Google Maps? This is what you do. A pretty big win for Nokia, actually.
Great read by Alexis Madrigal on how Google got so far ahead in maps — and why they’re likely to stay ahead.
There are a number of factors at play, but one key that stands out are the Street View cars. If Apple is going to compete in the space, they’re going to need some answer not to the Street View product, but to the data those cars send back. (Which is undoubtedly why we’re seeing Apple quietly partner with companies like Waze.)
The mockups are more interesting than the supposedly legit (and extremely blurry) pics of the new Maps app. The mocks seem inline with what I had heard about the 3D element of the revamped Maps app: “Cool, but you’re not going to use it that often.”
All the talk about Apple taking over mapping on iOS sounds great. Can't wait. However, I haven't heard much on the turn by turn front. This is the one area, the only area, where I'm jealous of Android users. Without turn by turn, I'll continue to have to use a 3rd party app for 90 percent of my mapping usage. So, my obvious question: Have you heard if Apples new map app will include a (vocal) turn by turn feature?
Asked by Anonymous
I haven’t heard anything specifically about this, but my guess is that Apple has been hard at work on it for some time. The fact that the maps update is coming seems like a good sign. Or it may take longer. Not sure.
They know this is one of the remaining “low-hanging fruits”, as John Gruber calls them, that they can add to iOS. It’s also an area where Android is, without question, winning — as in, actually winning, not “winning”.
The OpenStreetMap Foundation says that Apple has indeed switched from Google Maps in the new iOS version of iPhoto — to their maps. And they note that they’re using older data and not crediting OpenStreetMap. Interesting.
A few people pointed out yesterday that Apple’s new maps don’t look like OpenStreetMap, but it appears Apple may have just re-skinned the tiles. But there’s still some confusion here.
