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This is exactly the OPPOSITE of why I'm intrigued and impressed by Google as a company. They just want people to have access to their services. They are not abo
by mladenkovacevic 14y ago
This is exactly the OPPOSITE of why I'm intrigued and impressed by Google as a company. They just want people to have access to their services. They are not about authoritative control over who gets access and locking their users in a walled garden. Android is wonderful and Google's done a great job of integrating their services with it.. but why shouldn't iOS users have at least some of the same benefits (if Apple allows them of course)
- oconnore 14y agoWell, it is likely that some deal-making (or lack thereof) behind the curtain is why Apple had to release a new maps tool in the first place. But for users, yes.
- rimantas 14y ago> They just want people to have access to their services. They just want to have access to the people :)
- hcarvalhoalves 14y ago"They are not about authoritative control over who gets access and locking their users in a walled garden." You think the iOS maps app was stagnant for such a long time because of what? Because Apple is lazy? It's obvious they don't want to be on the hand of a competitor. Google Maps used to be free with a large API quota when released, remember? Then, once everybody was using it, they updated the API and imposed a much more limited free quota (almost useless), and released a premium version. Well, I tried getting in touch with anyone at Google to get a quote about the price for their premium API. I couldn't even talk to a human, let alone pay for the service. Now imagine you're Apple, and how much Google would charge.
- dannyr 14y agoThe new Google Map pricing affected the Top 0.35% of its API users. What kind of site do you have?
- hcarvalhoalves 14y agoA site big enough to hit free quota limits, but small enough for Google to not care.
- vosper 14y agoBut there's just no possible way Apple can win out of this - there is nothing really comparable to Google Maps out there, and mapping has been core iPhone functionality from the get-go. Many people rely on it every day. Even if Google were charging a huge premium behind the scenes Google Maps have always been presented as "the Apple iPhone mapping app" not "Google Maps for iPhone" and so it'll reflect on Apple for messing it up, not Google.
- hcarvalhoalves 14y ago"there is nothing really comparable to Google Maps out there" How exactly? The previous app used Google Maps API and was completely lackluster. The only good thing using their API is their own Android app. Now, what are Apple's options again? Contribute to the cash flow of a company detaining the monopoly on mapping data when they can backstab you at any moment? That sounds like the stupidest strategic decision ever. Better get a true partnership. I'm amazed how HN crowd is vocal against the big companies, but when it's about Google their monopolies are actually encouraged...
- Gustomaximus 14y agoNothing comparable? I thought Microsoft and Nokia both have pretty decent mapping.
- vosper 14y agoThey do, and I actually prefer the look and feel of Bing's maps when on my computer, but Bing's app is not mapping focused, Nokia's only has navigation when on foot, and neither have streetview or offline mapping.
- hcarvalhoalves 14y agoYes, my dad has a Nokia and the last time we travelled we used it's maps application, not the one in my iOS 5. The old iPhone app is simply impossible to use with 3G, it looks like it downloads bitmaps instead of vector data, and takes ages to update.
- chrisbroadfoot 14y ago> I couldn't even talk to a human Really? That doesn't sound right. Please send me a mail and I will follow up. My initials at google dot com.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]