Stop Trolling Jon! It's longer and has a headphone socket at the bottom so you can pocket it in the correct head first fashion!!! It's a total ****ing game changer!!!! GAME CHANGER!!!!!
Apples maps are incredibly ****. Hopefully they will get better. On another note, i am loving my iPhone 5, white/alloy, superb design. Really happy with it.
Lets get this right, at this point in this discussion. Apples license to use Google maps ran out. They did not dump Google maps. The actual development for the Google Maps app was done in house at Apple. They were just allowed to use all the Google data/streetview etc. That license expired. Apple had to bring their own solution to the table. Google makes most of its revenue from advertising. Having Google maps renegotiated for the iPhone just means that Google makes a stack more cash in advertising when people hit items in search results on the maps application. Apple will get there with the maps app. (Remember, Google have had 7 years to perfect it) I dont think it was quite ready for public release, but due to the aforementioned license expiration, they really didnt have a choice. IMO. Id have rather them shipped iOS 6 without a map application in the meantime, and allowed people to access the data via the web in the meantime, and ask for help getting the mapping right. Essentially, make it an open public beta. But Apple did not choose to do this, so we have what we have for the moment. I actually think it has the potential to be something very amazing, but it needs a lot of work.
The option wasnt even there before, and some other phone OS dont even give you a choice. At least the option is there to disable it. How many websites do you visit in IE and think, how do they know i was looking at the Halfords website, or browsing for a new home on Rightmove? Targetted advertising is BIG and its happening to everyone.
It's a proper pain in the **** if part of your job is targeted advertising and 60% of your web traffic is mobile based! lol
How did Apple get their satellite info? My TomTom is ancient, but has no satellite view - have TomTom now started taking satellite pics (or buying sh*t ones) from a third party, to sell to Apple?
I thought you worked in finance? I posted on Macrumors that they must have based all the map data on some WW2 maps that the Chinese must have had. Birmingham airport is not even on the map, and when you search for it, there is an airstrip that was used in WW2 in the Aldridge district of Birmingham. Feck knows where they got the Satellite data from. It cant have been Tomtom.
Left finance, well got made redundant about 3 years ago now, still dabble on occation freelance. Head of Sales and Customer Service for a firm of Accountants now, 95% of new clients come via the web via SEO, PPC and targeted ads.
Were towns in different places in WW2, like in the middle of lakes? I am honestly stunned by the fact that they let the phone go with those maps - I mean Steve Jobs, w*nker that I think he was, rang one of his top boys in church on a Sunday because he didn't think the yellow in "Google" was the right shade - who the hell looks at those maps and says "Yep, London is right next to Cairo, and it is naturally a blurry city" and releases the phone? Would it have taken that much longer, say a month, to perfect it? And would that have harmed sales?
I wonder how long it will take them to get it right, or will they just licence Google Maps as a solution in the meantime? I do a lot of work at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shackleton_Barracks - note that Ryanair managed to mistakenly land a flight at a disused RAF/Army base, completely abandoned apart from 5 security guards, thinking it was actually an airport... wonder how that control tower conversation went down. Not to mention that there is an active railway line crossing the runway, and trains have right of way!
In terms of man hours, it was quoted as something silly like 400 years in the article? Thats the advantage that Google has over Apple in terms of its mapping data. I think Apple would need to throw a team of several hundred local specialists from all over the world, managed by a team that excel in mapping. They will need to travel around the world too, its not something you can guess. Think its going to take them a long time to sort it out.
or pay up and stop being wallies, google purchased their maps from a third party so why the hold up with apple?
Can't see that happening. Too much bad blood over Android, and Apple and Google are in competition in the online advertising space. Phone's good though. I've installed a backup map application, but I'm going to try and use the Apple one, to see how it goes. Like the functionality but the data is a bit hit and miss. It knows where my mate's house is in Solihull, but doesn't have a name on Slowly-dull itself.
The beta testers and developers have been telling Apple since the first release of iOS6 that the maps just were no good. Why werent they listening Mike, or was it a case of they really had no choice?
No idea - new product development is all top secret. Decisions would all be made behind closed doors.
I wonder if they could crowd source it... at least to get the bug reports in and target the fixes. Could get a lot of hoax reports though.
I just dont believe for a second Google would have refused Apple money to extend the Licence, had Apple negociated for it. All the websites I have read predict that within 24 months the Apple Maps will be using the Google information anyway, because as you say, they(google) have an unbeleaveable amount of data already banked. Granted it would be serious egg on face for Apple to have to pay there biggest rival for the information, no more so than releasing a very poor map system of their own.
