“Between 2009 and 2011, Apple acquired three mapping companies in quick succession: Placebase, in 2009; 3-D mapping outfit Poly9 in 2010; and in 2011, C3 Technologies, a second 3-D mapping company. Three mapping-company acquisitions in as many years. But for good reason: Apple has been hard at work developing its own in-house mapping solution for iOS, and now it’s finally ready to debut it.” I’m probably crazy, but I’ve never used the map applications on my mobile phones, so it’s difficult for me to get excited about this.
They just want to show you ads for all the places you visit so that you buy shit you don’t really need.
I also cannot get exited about map apps. TBH although Google Maps is vastly superior to my old phones Tomtom .. I don’t really see the difference. Even super slick 3D doodads (how do you spell those?) won’t change that I don’t think.
So because Apple has it’s very own little map application, iOS users will probably lose the ability to use Google Maps anywhere but the browser. That of course ignores the fact that quite a lot of the information on Google Maps is crowd sourced information that Apple will be denying to it’s users. If I hadn’t already ditched my iPhone for an Android, I would now.
My, my – a non announced product mentioned in one rumour is condemned out of hand, you don’t need a mapping app you need an open mind app.
Given how well Apple did creating the original iPhone Google Map app, which was better by far than anything else out there at the time, and which has suffered feature drag because of Google’s blocking actions in relation to iOS I expect and hope that Apple will raise the bar once again on mapping apps. But I will decide whether they have succeeded after it is officially announced.
This is video with a demo of what C3 technology, which was bought by Apple, can do.
http://youtu.be/BaahKhvO_E4
Personally I think it looks pretty amazing and I do hope it appears in iOS soon but as I said I await an actual announcement.
Funny how at the time, the Android version performed vastly better than the iOS version.
I wonder if this is why Apple bought C3. So that their competitor never gets a version of what they consider strategic software, especially if it’s a better version. Kind of like when they bought Emagic just for the sake of killing the Windows version of Logic back in the day…
Edited 2012-05-12 13:53 UTC
Do you really think Apple bought Emagic just for the sake of killing the Windows version of Logic? Why? Was Logic a killer product that somehow gave Windows a game changing advantage over MacOSX? Isn’t the simpler, saner explanation that Apple wanted some top class music software, bought one of the best companies making such software and then just dropped Windows support because Apple is not in the business of supporting Windows software unless it helps support Apple hardware. Given it’s financial resources if Apple wanted to buy companies just to kill Windows software why not buy Adobe plus half a dozen of the largest game companies? Apple could do that with a quarters profits.
Apple’s acquisitions strategy is very conservative compared to most of the big players in the tech business, it buys far fewer companies say than Microsoft, or Google, and the companies it buys are always done so with a very deliberate strategic aim, and one that bears visible fruit not long after. In fact watching Apple’s acquisitions is a very good way of guessing the sort things they will announcing or be doing not long after.
Apple have bought a number of mapping companies over the last three years or so and are clearly looking to replace their dependency on Google maps, and who is to blame them? Google has already started to use their mapping system to add features to Android in order to compete against Apple’s iOS. Building their own mapping system is a sane choice for Apple. Buying C3 was a good strategic move as the company had obviously developed some eye opening mapping software, and will compliment the mapping technology and talent that Apple got when it acquired in 2009 (which gave them an already built mapping team) along with Poly9 in 2010 (which had a leaner version of Google earth already up and running).
What will be interesting will be what sort of vision and ambition Apple have brought to their mapping endeavour. Given their track record it is reasonable to expect and hope that they are hoping for a game changer on maps, after all changing the game is what Apple likes to do. I would expect that Apple maps will be much less if at all browser based or connected and will be much more a closed app style approach. Apple likes to evolve it’s products so I expect a limited number of features in version one of their maps app but delivered in a way that is demonstrable better than the other mapping solutions. It may well ship with no third party SDK or support, again typically Apple’s way, but once successfully deployed and established third party support will almost certainly come. That was the way with iOS itself and with, for example, iCloud which looks like it may get third party developer tools at WWDC this june.
Personally I am quite excited about what Apple will do in maps, geographic information is of such strategic importance in mobile devices that I expect them to put a lot effort in and I look forward to getting my hands on it.
Sorry mate but you’re either chatting shit about a subject you know nothing about or the reality distortion field is particularly effective on you, because that comment is so far spun that all the facts behind the acquisition have been completely ignored.
So let me set the record straight – not as a biased zealot but as an impartial musician who was also an active producer around that time.
There was a big financial incentive to keep producers on OS X. At the time, powerful computers were required which reaped in huge profits for Apple with hardware sales (unlike now where modest systems can run DAWs) and more DAWs were available for Windows than Macs (Cubase being the biggie). Plus with VST(i)’s being effectively Windows only (there are wrappers for OS X, but they’re largely crap) and more and more studios ditching hardware in favour of an all-digital set up, Apple had to do something quick to keep OS X a relevant platform for music production.
They couldn’t buy Cubase as Cubase’s backbone is VSTs which are essentially just Windows PE’s. It wouldn’t have been worth their while buying Propellerhead as Reason was still rather young and thus couldn’t be taken as seriously as Cubase/Logic and pretty much everything else were toys or trackers (a type of DAW that was dying out at the time). So Logic was the only viable candidate.
Now when you compare the features that Apples acquisition had earned Logic, it’s pretty minor compared to the development pace in prior versions leading up to 6 (versions 1 through to 5 were PC and Mac). In fact the last time I played with Logic i was pretty underwhelmed by it’s lack of progress considering how far other DAWs have moved since:
* FL Studio is finally starting to become more than a toy,
* Ableton has gone from non-existence to being used professionally for both live performances and studio sequencing.
* Reaper has also sprung into existence and is growing in popularity
* and even Linux based solutions are starting to gain traction (though even as a Linux user, I’m yet to be convinced it’s ready for any serious music studios despite having read a number of accounts of professions making the switch. But that’s a whole other debate!).
So having use Logic – both on Windows prior to the acquisition and on OS X since – it was pretty obvious that the primary driving force behind said acquisition was to keep OS X a relevant platform for music professionals and the only way to do that was eliminate support for competing platforms.
If Apple were really buying a solid product that fitted in with their “Think Differently” brand and had the style detail that matches, then they’d have bought Reason. Sure it needed a lot of work to bring up to Logics level, but at the time it was a very exciting product. It could have been great if it had the backing of Apple. Sadly instead of innovation, Cupertino just wanted a quick fix – and buying Logic did just that.
Personally I don’t have an issue with this though. It’s pretty standard practice in IT and less destructive than patent litigation. Sure, as a Windows producer it was bloody annoying as I really liked Logic, but I can also sympathise with why Apple needed to do it. Plus there’s been plenty of producers that did make the switch because of this and have never been happier for doing so.
So please don’t be so foolish as to think that everyone on this site are ignorant n00bs who’ll blindly believe whatever biased horse shit you feed them.
Edited 2012-05-13 10:50 UTC
there is a lot of room here. all map apps suck, and everyone can benefit from a map app.
It would be hard to blow my head off with a map app. Google Maps does a good job on Android. I’m not trying to become the mayor or even tell everyone every place I go with checkins.. I just want to know what subway station is nearest and if I am walking the correct way down the block.
Oh, i guess actually having an iDevice would be a prerequisite… deal breaker…
Look at a map of the bad end of town, and your head will get blown off. It’s that realistic!
More seriously though, I’m not sure that I need this sort of thing on a mobile device. What would be handy is up-to-date data and accurate search algorithms. It gets a bit tiring when I ask a mapping application for directions from “my address in my city to business name in neighbouring city” and end up the wrong city being used for one end or the other. The problem is that super realistic graphics is easy (expensive, but it’s easy to figure out how to do) while more intelligent algorithms are hard (probably cheaper, but no guarantee of success) so Apple will do the eye popping stuff and hope that noone notices.
+1.
Right now, I’d like one to point me to the nearest ATM. Google Maps is close to useless (I’d find one sooner without the map), and Ovi Maps misses some (but is infinitely better for my location). And this is the kind of thing you only need in Outer Suburbia, not in Central Metropolis where it will be supported anyway.
I use the iOS maps application a lot in several different scenarios:
– On several occasions I’ve used my iPhone to help a stranger find a street or give them directions, and every time I’ve awkwardly asked them to wait… and wait… while the map loads. I’ve got a reasonable 3G connection, but local caching of the map data would help and seems like it would be easy to implement.
– It’s also great when taking a bus in an unknown city – you can keep the maps application open, and watch the little dot move down the road past the bus stops. You know precisely when to ring the bell to get off.
– Related to the above, I like being able to just enter a destination and have Google maps tell me what busses to take to get somewhere – so much better than trying to understand bus timetables in a unfamiliar city.
– Walking distance estimates are really useful, and the comparison of times for different travel methods is handy.
But no matter how good the new Apple maps app is, I don’t want to use anything that might blow my head off. I’m quite attached to my head, in more ways than one.
(seriously, it’s like those ads for “killer abs” – I always think “that sounds dangerous – I don’t think I want those!”)
Edited 2012-05-11 23:42 UTC
Actually, Google Maps CAN do caching. I remember tweaking the settings for it on my Android phone in order to improve performance on EDGE networks.
Indeed. There is also a labs feature that allows you to select areas to precache.
blow heads off?
http://maps3d.svc.nokia.com/webgl/
Nokia have been doing 3d maps for a while now, they even have webgl version. I’d be surprised if their nokia windows phone maps app doesn’t have 3d in the works .. (or if not already? anyone?)
map? no.
but a turn by turn app for driving is mandatory.
Well, I tend to use GMaps occasionally to find places which I have never gone to, without solely relying on the awkwardly complicated explanations that people give me when I ask.
I wouldn’t use it for anything else though. Phone screens are too small, EDGE data connections are too slow (and 3G is too power-hungry*), and I don’t feel very comfortable with telling megacorps where I am and relying on their instructions for my everyday life.
* Seriously, the next generations of mobile networks should focus more on power consumption on the terminal side IMO. Speed is pretty much good enough now, considering that carriers let you do nothing bandwidth-hungry on their data connections, but the way 3G multiplies battery drain by two when doing nothing (no, not even moving) is unacceptable.
Edited 2012-05-12 07:25 UTC
Which is a bit sad, in the sense that we mostly don’t bother to make something like map data working nicely over EDGE… while, few years back, I successfully did Diablo II online gaming over EDGE.
Anyway, maps should be normally fully precached in such applications (like Nokia does it), with only some realtime info relying on data connection.
BTW, EDGE is 3G
(as defined by International Telecommunication Union). Too bad Evolved EDGE doesn’t see deployment, it would be quite decent (and quite desirable, seeing how GSM will probably remain the “baseline” worldwide standard for a long time – I wouldn’t be surprised if it effectively outlives 3G)
OTOH, I do see the utility of not only “places which I have never gone to”, but also of optimising our daily routes …on a large scale, it should also end up “green”.
Anyway, GPS is not so bad… check out how this Chinese navigation system functions, it’s simply wonderful when it comes to ~surveillance
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beidou_navigation_system#Position_calc…
Individual theoretical speed yes, but not the overall capacity of networks.
Edited 2012-05-19 00:17 UTC
No, you’re not, there’s at least 2 of us. I’ve used ndrive occasionally, but that’s it.
I agree you’re both not crazy but I would say you are unusual.
I use the crap out of the Maps app that comes with wp7. Its fantastic. I’ve never used one under ios tho. Curious to see how the new one is.
Recently I spend the night in a village I had never been to. My wife ordered me to find food. My iPhone + maps directed me to the shopping center.
I don’t use maps that often, I either know the way or the navigation app and my car deliver me to the doorstep of where I need to be. It would be very useful when on holiday abroad, but roaming costs prevent me from turning Internet on.
Google should be able to be rightly mad at Apple for getting into the map business, no?
Jobs ^aEUR~We did not enter the search business. They entered the phone business^aEURTM
BUT HE STARTED IT MOM
Who says “blow your head off”? “Blow you away”, “Blow your mind”, ok. “blow your head off”? WTF?
Appleheads?
Sounds dangerous.
In what universe does google maps suck? An street view on a galaxy note is… too awesome.
I sure like map apps. It helps a freaking damn lot when you’re in a unknown place since it serves as direction, mapping and of course your position is pinpointed by gps.
I think you guys are on crack for not realizing that, or never move out of your basement. Using a regular paper map takes 10x longer.Thats nearly the only reason I got a smartphone.
I have a GPS system in my car, but mostly just check Google Maps on my PC before I leave.
Messing with a finnicky touch screen sucks balls for maps.
I frequently have to travel to cities I have never been to. I tend to use a combination of Navigon and Google Maps on my iPhone. The combination works pretty well for me.
One thing Google Maps does really well is getting me around NYC with public transportation and on foot. Knowing when trains were coming, where my transfers were, and how long it will take, took a lot of the complexity out of the subway system for me.
I would be surprised that Apple maps 1.0 can do all that Google Maps does for me, so I hope they allow google to sell their maps app in the app store.
As I am living in a country where I don’t speak that much the native language (Japan). the Map application was useful on my feature phone, and I still use it on my smartphone (which I almost consider as a downgrade from my feature phone, but that’s another story).
Asking the people for the way up to a place can be a nightmare, but I still do this time to time because I don’t know how to write the name of the place.
However, bragging about the map feature of a smartphone software seems a little like bragging about being able to make call with it (well except if it bring than star-wars like hologram ).
Kinda like about installable apps, MMS, videocalls, or BB-style IM?
I hate how the cheesy pop-scifi hijacked this term / those weren’t holograms
( http://www.osnews.com/thread?492454 )
EDIT : Nevermind
Edited 2012-05-14 16:42 UTC