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I'm not sure what Apple is expecting here. 9 women can't make a baby in a month, and a billion dollars can't make a Google maps clone in a year. I think Apple

by swalsh 14y ago

I'm not sure what Apple is expecting here. 9 women can't make a baby in a month, and a billion dollars can't make a Google maps clone in a year. I think Apple maps is a really good product. But to expect it to be on par with Google maps is crazy.

georgespencer 14y ago
> 9 women can't make a baby in a month, and a billion dollars can't make a Google maps clone in a year. I suspect this is exactly the point Cue made when he fired him. They are looking for someone who can put in place the plan and team to deliver a Maps app that is superior to Google Maps over the long term, not this time next year.
coob 14y ago
It's a good product and in many ways better than the Google maps that existed previously on iOS (vector, 3D, Flyover). The map data coverage is fine for probably most users. For those users it is inadequate for, however, it renders maps completely useless. However, it is fundamentally flawed in the most important area: Search. The search just isn't good enough to come anywhere near comparison to Google Maps. Apple need to be focussing 90% of their efforts to catch up here - a tall order.
- pavel_lishin 14y ago
  As someone living in New York City, the lack of public transit integration is a complete showstopper.
  - waitwhat 14y ago
    And as someone living in Estonia, Apple Maps lists just one restaurant for the entire country (a McDonald's) and no hotels at all. For me, that's not just a showstopper, it's barely even a minimum viable product.
- kyrra 14y ago
  Google has vector based map data available, it just wasn't being used on the iphone's Google Maps. If I understand correctly, maps on Android use vector based data. They are working on a way for PC browsers to support vector based maps as well (called MapsGL[1]). So Apple didn't do anything amazing with their vector based maps, it was just new for their platform. [1] http://support.google.com/maps/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1630790 http://support.google.com/maps/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answe...
  - Stratoscope 14y ago
    You are correct about the Android maps, and MapsGL isn't just something they're working on, it works now in the desktop browsers that support it.
- MrScruff 14y ago
  I agree that the lacklustre search is a major issue. In addition to that, the information density is terrible in comparison to Google maps. Google maps uses colour, opacity, line thickness and other visual cues to distinguish roads. Road names are clear and legible, and a sensible algorithm is used to determine which to label when zooming out. Apple's maps are a clear second best, giving the impression they skimped on usability testing.
  - gdilla 14y ago
    True, though isn't that a data problem and not necessarily an engineering one? While the product manager for maps should have fought for search and transit features, everyone at Apple knew it wasn't there when they released it. Curious why he would have to take the fall for it; when leadership there is so top down, someone higher up must have OK'ed it. Though obviously I know none of the real context of course.

by swalsh 14y ago

georgespencer 14y ago

> 9 women can't make a baby in a month, and a billion dollars can't make a Google maps clone in a year. I suspect this is exactly the point Cue made when he fired him. They are looking for someone who can put in place the plan and team to deliver a Maps app that is superior to Google Maps over the long term, not this time next year.

coob 14y ago

It's a good product and in many ways better than the Google maps that existed previously on iOS (vector, 3D, Flyover). The map data coverage is fine for probably most users. For those users it is inadequate for, however, it renders maps completely useless. However, it is fundamentally flawed in the most important area: Search. The search just isn't good enough to come anywhere near comparison to Google Maps. Apple need to be focussing 90% of their efforts to catch up here - a tall order.

pavel_lishin 14y ago
As someone living in New York City, the lack of public transit integration is a complete showstopper.
- waitwhat 14y ago
  And as someone living in Estonia, Apple Maps lists just one restaurant for the entire country (a McDonald's) and no hotels at all. For me, that's not just a showstopper, it's barely even a minimum viable product.
kyrra 14y ago
Google has vector based map data available, it just wasn't being used on the iphone's Google Maps. If I understand correctly, maps on Android use vector based data. They are working on a way for PC browsers to support vector based maps as well (called MapsGL[1]). So Apple didn't do anything amazing with their vector based maps, it was just new for their platform. [1] http://support.google.com/maps/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1630790 http://support.google.com/maps/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answe...
- Stratoscope 14y ago
  You are correct about the Android maps, and MapsGL isn't just something they're working on, it works now in the desktop browsers that support it.
MrScruff 14y ago
I agree that the lacklustre search is a major issue. In addition to that, the information density is terrible in comparison to Google maps. Google maps uses colour, opacity, line thickness and other visual cues to distinguish roads. Road names are clear and legible, and a sensible algorithm is used to determine which to label when zooming out. Apple's maps are a clear second best, giving the impression they skimped on usability testing.
- gdilla 14y ago
  True, though isn't that a data problem and not necessarily an engineering one? While the product manager for maps should have fought for search and transit features, everyone at Apple knew it wasn't there when they released it. Curious why he would have to take the fall for it; when leadership there is so top down, someone higher up must have OK'ed it. Though obviously I know none of the real context of course.