back to article Google maps app is BACK on iPhones, fanbois spared death

Google's maps app for iPhones, iPads and iPods is back less than three months after Apple booted it out of the iOS platform. In that period, the Cupertino giant publicly apologised for replacing its rival's mapping application with its own shoddy satnav-like software; the top exec behind Apple's crap map app, Scott Forstall, …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Google can now resume data collection.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      That's actually the first thing I'm going to check - start wireshark and etherape and see what exactly it gets up - blocked out 3G (in a radius of about 10m, grin) so it'll have to use a path I can check..

      Yes, I like Google apps, but I don't like their price ("free" isn't "free" if it violates my privacy)

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Freeloader!

    2. Kebablog

      Maps worth more to Google than Apple?

      It would be interesting to see how much data Google lost with the removal of the of the original iOS maps app.

      1. dotslash

        Re: Maps worth more to Google than Apple?

        "Google can now resume data collection."

        These comments are so narrow minded. Do you not think Nectar/Clubcard et al don't collect and analyse your habits? Why else do they give you free things for using them? How about Oyster analysing your travel patterns? Or even Amazon analysing your shopping patterns? In a more positive way, Credit Card companies monitor your spending habits to avoid fraud.

        If you don't want to be monitored, get rid of all your technology, leave your bank and live in the Antarctic. Otherwise, shut up and sit down.

        1. cs94njw

          Re: Maps worth more to Google than Apple?

          To be honest, even if they did harvest my data, what I get in return makes up for it.

          If the return starts to diminish, I'll be thinking again...

          ... lies... I probably wouldn't. No-one else out there gives a better experience than Google.

        2. Tom 38
          Thumb Down

          Re: Maps worth more to Google than Apple?

          Put up and shut up? No thanks.

          Don't use a clubcard, don't tie your Oyster to your identity, pay for things with cash.

          1. xyz Silver badge

            Re: Maps worth more to Google than Apple?

            .Don't use a clubcard, don't tie your Oyster to your identity, pay for things with cash.

            Cripes, there's someone as paranoid as me!

            As for the subject matter at hand....hahahahahahaha hahahahahaha hahahahahaha

          2. It wasnt me

            Re: Maps worth more to Google than Apple?

            "Don't use a clubcard".

            Wow.... So Tesco know I buy fish. Big deal. I do. And for the privilige of sharing that information with them they gave me enough vouchers for a new iPhone5 this year, and a 4gs last year.

            I get free phones, they get to know what I eat. I consider myself the winner in that exchange.

            Seriously, theres privacy and theres privacy. Life more pleasant if you live somewhere in the middle of the paranoia spectrum.

            On an unrelated note, have Apple pulled a blinder here ? 18 months ago they were paying Google billions for the maps. Now they're paying them nothing for an improved version. Some might think thats a bit of business genius. Google obviously get our data, but they got that before. Google maps is so much better than the iOS abomination that I would have happily paid good money for it.

            1. Richard Scratcher
              Thumb Up

              "...have Apple pulled a blinder here ?"

              They also took the opportunity to fire Scott Forstall.

            2. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Maps worth more to Google than Apple?

              "they gave me enough vouchers for a new iPhone5 this year'

              Crickey! You must be buying enough food to feed the 5,000 to get a free Jesus phone.

            3. Mark .

              Re: Maps worth more to Google than Apple?

              A real blinder, it only cost them their reputation, made them a laughing stock in the usually apple loving media, and drew criticism from their previously fanatical users. Brilliant move.

              (Apple should know the benefit of having things work ootb, else they wouldn't have hyped things like voice recognition and panorama camera, things previously available as apps anyway.)

        3. Stuart Castle Silver badge

          Re: Maps worth more to Google than Apple?

          As noted above, there's paranoia and paranoia..

          I use Nectar in sainsburys. Unfortunately, the only info they are likely to glean from that is what I like to eat (which is usually way too many bags of crisps). I use Oyster for my annual travelcard. So, unfortunately, it is tied to my name and address. Thankfully, i mainly use my travelcard to get to/from work and go out in the evenings. Seeing as I don't scan my oyster card everywhere I go though, they can only tie me down to the nearest station. I don't always scan in and out there either. As such, assuming TFL know I am doing anything, they only know that I scanned my card at a given station, or got on a specific bus (they don't even offer the option of scanning your card when you get off buses, so they have no way of knowing when I do).

          I also use Amazon. With both credit and debit cards. Yes, they can track what I buy to my address. Seeing as what I buy from Amazon is mostly books and CDs/DVDs, I am actually not really bothered about that. So, they know I like Star Trek. So what? A lot of people know I like it.

          And yes, I know my bank does it. Thankfully, if I am buying anything I don't want my bank to know about, I can buy it with cash (even going so far as to withdraw it from an ATM nowhere near where I am buying it). Similarly, if I buy something in a shop, I can pay for it in cash, without using a loyalty card assuming I object to the card operators tracking me,

          Google is different. Not only do they profile searches, which is bad enough, but any page with a google ad reports it's contents to google when a user signed in to google uses it. This info goes on to be stored apparently to enable google to serve more relevant ads. They also go through your email looking for keywords, as well as logging any searches. Thanks to the Streetview slurp, Google can also often localise this info down to maybe one or two homes, and they probably have photos of them.

          Searches which may well contain a lot of personal information (particularly if you like porn, or have some sort of medical condition you don't want people to know about). A lot more personal than the fact you buy Right Guard, occasionally buy a certain kind of film or book and have to travel to and from London Bridge every day.

          So, Google Fanboi, I would suggest you try and research what Google actually do with your data (maybe try and work out why it's difficult to get a clear answer out of them as well), or take your own advice.

          1. dotslash

            Re: Maps worth more to Google than Apple?

            i'll take my own advice thanks, I like my own advice, it's paranoid free.

            Until some secret assassin knocks on my door for looking at too much porn, I'll be fine - and if that does happen, I'll go all Jack Bauer on the world.

        4. Mark 65

          Re: Maps worth more to Google than Apple?

          "Do you not think Nectar/Clubcard et al don't collect and analyse your habits?"

          It's better than that. Stores track your purchases without reward cards - the card you pay with is an Id source for them. Store all your history against this Id and attempt to link different payment methods together in future. i.e. if you order online and get it delivered to your house - do this with different cards and those Ids can all be linked back to you and your address. Move house and pay with an existing card online and they can all be relinked etc. There is a whole industry around it. They profile you for future purchases. There's a piece on the internet somewhere about Target in the US and the lengths of analysis they go to.

        5. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Maps worth more to Google than Apple?

          . Do you not think Nectar/Clubcard et al don't collect and analyse your habits?

          Well done. Now you know why I don't have store cards. Hell, I even pay my Oyster card in cash when I spend a week in London (even though it takes but a moment to associate the card ID with my face on the surveillance videos, which I haven't bothered with buying tickets - but they still don't have an *identity* to go with it). I know data is collected everywhere, but that doesn't mean I should help them as well.

    3. W.O.Frobozz

      Yeah, because only Google collects information. The Most Holy St. Jobs would never do that.

      Also: HAAAA HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. The newly-returned Google Maps for iTards should start with a splash screen that says "Suck it down."

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Have you seen the banner that flashes at the bottom of the app....

    'Probably the best map for iOS in the world'

    1. Silverburn
      Happy

      if Carlsberg made map apps...

  3. Alan Bourke

    I almost died in Australia

    because I headed off into the outback unprepared.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I almost died in Australia

      Yup, I believe you. Not..

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I almost died in Australia

      I almost die in Australia every day. From boredom, usually.

      1. Code Monkey

        Re: I almost died in Australia

        "I almost die in Australia every day. From boredom, usually."

        Does your iPhone keep sending you to funky new towns that don't exist?

    3. Peter Simpson 1
      Alert

      Re: I almost died in Australia

      Australia doesn't have a lock on bad mapping data -- took me years to convince Google, TeleAtlas and Navtech to stop sending people to our house via the mudpit that masquerades as the middle portion of our road. You can only travel it end-to-end if you have an off-road vehicle!

      Now that I have the data correct in the three major data suppliers' databases, I just have to wait until it gets rolled out to the in-vehicle systems.

      //tired of getting calls from delivery folks unable to find my house

      1. Fred Flintstone Gold badge

        Re: I almost died in Australia

        tired of getting calls from delivery folks unable to find my house

        - put up signs

        - give them your own route description

        - move

        So many solutions, so little time :)

      2. M Gale

        Re: I almost died in Australia

        "took me years to convince Google, TeleAtlas and Navtech to stop sending people to our house via the mudpit that masquerades as the middle portion of our road."

        I still see people trying to head from here to a village due South, via an old track that is still legally a toll road. Unfortunately, the farmer who owns it can't be arsed maintaining it, so keeps the gate shut.

        It proved amusing once, at some ungodly hour on a Winter morning, when I was woken by the sound of a screaming engine. Some chavs had nicked a car, presumably with some kind of satnav in it. Now, the junction off to the track I mentioned is further up the street. However, these fools were being chased by the cops and missed their turn. Not even realising this street is a dead end, they hit the very gentle curve near the bottom of the street, fast enough for me to hear the tyres begin to screech and complain about lack of traction. Wouldn't surprise me if they were doing near enough a ton at that point.

        Then they saw the end of the road.

        What I heard then was the longest ever skidding sound as this car proceeded to slide the last two or three hundred yards down the road sideways. There was an ominous silence for about a second as they careened off the tarmac, ploughed (literally, like digging trenches in the lawn) through someone's front garden, and then a short crunch as the car impacted the fence just before a 5 foot drop into woodland. I managed to gaze bleary-eyed out of the window to see what the fuss was about, just as the police came down at a much more leisurely, relaxed pace to arrest the joyriders.

        Faulty mapping data: An awesome anti-theft device.

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I almost died in Australia

      Better luck next time?

  4. Unicornpiss
    Flame

    Ooh, voice-guided turn by turn nav?

    You mean the same feature that Android users have been enjoying for free for years?

    I hope Google is charging Apple and/or fanbois a fortune for this :)

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Ooh, voice-guided turn by turn nav?

      That's the whole point - Apple probably pay NOTHING for Google to provide an app whereas when it was embedded they did. iPhone users now have two options for mapping and it will help push Google to improve their product further - some more up to date satellite mapping would be nice as where I live it must be well over 4 years old (the Apple sat pics are 12-18 months).

    2. Zaphod.Beeblebrox
      FAIL

      Re: Ooh, voice-guided turn by turn nav?

      And actually, so have iOS users - MapQuest has been available for free for some years now, and on the last trip I made with some Marketing droids, it performed better than the Android app you are so proud of. That is, it actually got us to the *intended* destination, rather than some random location a couple of miles away in a bad part of town... That reminds me, the Marketing droid that was in charge of that trip still owes me for saving his bacon, I'm off to collect.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Ooh, voice-guided turn by turn nav?

        > it performed better than the Android app you are so proud of. That is, it actually got us to the *intended* destination, rather than some random location a couple of miles away in a bad part of town.

        Perhaps you could provide details of the destination it got so wrong so that we can let google know.

        1. Zaphod.Beeblebrox
          Meh

          Re: Ooh, voice-guided turn by turn nav?

          Sorry, I don't recall what the address was and don't care enough to dig back into the trip archives to find out.

      2. stuff and nonesense

        Re: Ooh, voice-guided turn by turn nav?

        I've had turn by turn voice guided satnav for a few years now on my iPhone, Navfree.

        It stores maps on my phone, no need to down load data and its quick!

    3. Annihilator
      Happy

      Re: Ooh, voice-guided turn by turn nav?

      And somehow, miraculously, Google have managed to make voice guided TBT navigation available on the older kit too - something Apple insist can't be done (no voice recog/Siri or TBT on their Maps app on an iPhone 4, only 4S and 5).

      There has been speculation that Google weren't able to update their map app as frequently as they'd like when it was embedded in iOS - I think this app goes some way to support that theory.

      1. Steve Todd
        Stop

        Re: Ooh, voice-guided turn by turn nav?

        The only part of the old Maps app that belonged to Google was the data. The whole front end was written by Apple, but they were limited by their license from Google (no turn-by-turn, no caching etc). For this data Apple were paying what is thought to be a substantial sum of money.

        Google weren't offering good terms to renew the contract so Apple went their own way. Google have now got their act together and produced a free app that contains stuff that they wouldn't let Apple do. There's now lots of competition between mapping apps. It looks to me like the winner is the consumer.

      2. Test Man
        Stop

        Re: Ooh, voice-guided turn by turn nav?

        "There has been speculation that Google weren't able to update their map app as frequently as they'd like when it was embedded in iOS - I think this app goes some way to support that theory."

        Speculation from misguided souls - Google have nothing to do with the development of the Maps app and never have done, the current version, prior version and in fact ALL versions of the Maps app has been developed by Apple. Google merely provided the Maps tiles via the third party API that they make available to all developers.

        Exactly the same with YouTube as well.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Your move apple...

    So whats apples response? just stay quiet and slowly work on making maps better? or give up and pull the plug before wasting many more millions on a useless app?

    1. Nick Ryan Silver badge

      Re: Your move apple...

      Who knows? The best result would be that Apple improve their offering considerably, which given the low starting point isn't hard, and this drives Google to improve Google Nav as well.

      Unfortunately doubtless there'll be usual bull shit of US software patents and other nonsense so they can't do this and will instead fight over relatively meaningless UI features and functions that are available everywhere else and have existed as extensive prior art.

      1. JDX Gold badge

        Re: Your move apple...

        Quick, patent "determine your location by viewing a map on a screen with a dot on it", "figure out how to get someplace by showing a line on a map", etc.

        1. FrankAlphaXII
          Devil

          Re: Your move apple...

          >>Quick, patent "determine your location by viewing a map on a screen with a dot on it", "figure out how to get someplace by showing a line on a map", etc.

          JDX, you forgot the magic words for an iPatent: "On a mobile device"

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Your move apple...

      Apple did it because embedding Google maps was costing them a fortune AND they wanted to give their developers more options to use the mapping data - i.e. more than their Google maps license would allow. Apple can keep developing Apple maps and people who had an issue can use Google maps - but in reality they always could with a 10 second 'save to an icon'.

      Storm in a teacup that probably only a few percent of people genuinely cared about.

      1. dotdavid
        Meh

        Re: Your move apple...

        "Storm in a teacup that probably only a few percent of people genuinely cared about"

        Obviously an anecdote doesn't equal proof, but the number of non-techy (and, well, techy) mates I've heard mention Apple Maps being broken, and discussing alternatives either to the maps app or to the iPhone, would suggest otherwise.

        In fact Google have probably saved a big chunk of Apple's iPhone-selling business by releasing this, and relatively promptly considering they supposedly only knew Google Maps was getting dumped from IOS when everyone else did.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Your move apple...

          "Obviously an anecdote doesn't equal proof, but the number of non-techy (and, well, techy) mates I've heard mention Apple Maps being broken, and discussing alternatives either to the maps app or to the iPhone, would suggest otherwise."

          ... because it's been all over the news. Did you also ask them how many thought Google Maps was perfect?

          The 'antennagate' issue was also all over the news but in reality almost all phones suffer the same type of issue and the telling statistic was 'how many were returned' - the answer 'almost none'.

          It's human nature to either follow the crowd - so when they hear there is a problem - they believe there is a problem (whether they experienced it or not) and also that people who have a problem moan loudly whereas people who are happy say nothing (bad service you tell 20 people - good service you tell 1).

          Personally I had no issues with Apple Maps and in some ways found it superior - I am glad to have BOTH on my iPhone.

          1. M Gale

            Re: Your move apple...

            "almost all phones suffer the same type of issue"

            Not to anywhere near the same degree, they don't. The iPhone 4's Grip O' Death was pretty much guaranteed to kill the signal, whereas any other phone? Not so much.

    3. xyz Silver badge
      Devil

      Re: Your move apple...

      "So whats apples response? just stay quiet and slowly work on making maps better? or give up and pull the plug before wasting many more millions on a useless app?"

      Give 'em 6 months and they'll reskin Google maps under the name iFind or something and then sue Google for nicking the map app idea.

  6. thondwe

    Iphone only :(

    1. jonathanb Silver badge

      Works fine on my iPod touch. No iPad version though.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        iPad version...

        http://maps.google.com

        yes, it has street view.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: iPad version...

          Myself, I always preferred street view through the old maps rather than through the ipad browser. Good to see it back.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Works fine on my ipad

      Haven't found whether it is possible to access StreetView though. I expect an ipad optimised version will follow. But which is better - apple maps or google maps ? Only one way to find out ... FIGHT!

      1. Steve I
        Go

        Re: Works fine on my ipad

        "Only one way to find out ... FIGHT!"

        Excellent idea - where's the fight?

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Works fine on my ipad

          ""Only one way to find out ... FIGHT!"

          Excellent idea - where's the fight?"

          Really? Which fking school do you goto?

          1. Loyal Commenter Silver badge
            Boffin

            Re: Works fine on my ipad

            10 PRINT "I go to the school of not overreacting to an internet comment'"

            20 GOTO 10

      2. BigAndos

        Re: Works fine on my ipad

        I was confused, but I worked out you hold your finger down on the map where you want to see street view. When it drops a marker on the map, swipe up the address window that appears at the bottom and you can open street view. Hope that helps!

      3. You have not yet created a handle
        Thumb Up

        Re: Works fine on my ipad

        Yep, street view is available, but not as straight forward to get to as the original built-in maps

  7. Steve Todd
    FAIL

    You think Google Maps makes you safe in the Outback

    Think again

    http://au.news.yahoo.com/technology/news/article/-/15610781/police-warn-of-safety-concerns-from-google-maps/

  8. This post has been deleted by its author

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Not available...

      What? What's that got to do with mapping?

  9. JDX Gold badge

    Good news for Apple

    Now everyone put off by their crap-maps can by iPhones again safe in the knowledge the platform has great mapping software.

    Apple get Google maps back, but this time they don't have to pay for it.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Good news for Apple

      Not so fast... "Now police in Colac, west of Melbourne, say faults with Google maps are putting people's lives at risk along the Great Ocean Road and in the southern Otways"

      1. Pet Peeve
        Facepalm

        Re: Good news for Apple

        Yep, it's a totally stupid story. Before apple maps came out, the reg had a story practically every other week about satnavs doing the same exact thing. It's just flamebait.

        The fact is, the underlying data is pretty terrible, since it only gets corrected by actually USING it. Roads that show in ordnance survey maps (or your local equivalent) but are misclassified as more drivable than they really are, or flat out don't exist anymore, are endemic to mapping data in remote areas. Until some yahoo tries to drive it, that information is never going to be corrected.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Good news for Apple

          They should use the old Soviet maps of UK, they''re better than the UK ones ;) In fact some companies do use the data already.

          Data pretty accurate up to 1991 one should imagine.....

          Apart from the dodgy phonetic spellings of placenames of course :P

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    This could be fun

    I look forward to impressive efforts being mounted to troll the inevitable Apple street view cars. Having perfected their art on Google cars, can we anticipate a new level of creativity? This new art form is deserving of awards, and I for one will be eagerly waiting for someone else to scan millions of Apple street view images to find new, outrageous images to provide me with a brief moment of entertainment.

    1. TeeCee Gold badge
      Coat

      Re: This could be fun

      Google used Opels, but I suspect that Apple will use Jagwires.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: This could be fun

        Well, why buy an overpriced lumbering pretence at being a modern car when you can have the real thing? Astra OPC anyone? They had a pale grey one on steel wheels for winter with not too much stick-on wings at my local dealer, took a while to figure out what it was exactly, I knew it looked kinda nice, but... ;)

        I actually really wanted an original XJS until I discovered that sadly, they were all crap. Apart from Tom Walkinshaw's racing ones. Which probably weren''t using the newer HE heads as those would have been a B***rd to tune.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: This could be fun

          Ahh, make that a GTC at the dealers, not quite as crazy as an OPC, and nice shape.

          http://www.opel.fr/vehicules/showroom/vehicules-particuliers/new-astra-gtc/index.html

          Check the crazy gallic background grumble-flick-music!

          1. Steve Todd
            Stop

            Re: This could be fun

            Not looked at a Jag recently have you? Take a look at the XF or the XK and tell us again how that GM tin is prettier.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: This could be fun

              I have, and I stand by what I said ;)

              1. Steve Todd

                Re: This could be fun

                No accounting for taste I suppose, people actually like the PT Cruiser too.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Is that a helicopter I hear?

    Nope. It's Steve Jobs spinning in his grave again.

  12. Longrod_von_Hugendong

    I just installed it...

    and removed the tick from 'track the crap out of me, whilst feeding in me adverts' and i didnt log in to my google account.

    As for the outback navigation problems, it should read...

    'I nearly died because my family has bred a little too closely, so i am dumb ass country bumpkin, who cannot follow signs or common sense '

    1. James Hughes 1

      Re: I just installed it...

      It's not the dumb ass country bumpkins who need better maps, it's the dumb ass city morons. People who live in the sticks actually can get around without the aid of electronics.

  13. groovyf

    tomtom?

    Rumours of Apple looking to buy TomTom. That would pretty much give Apple the "fix" that Apple Maps needs - simply replace it with a TomTom-based app.

    1. B_K
      Stop

      Re: tomtom?

      You do realise the current Apple Maps already uses TomTom data? (hence the 'Data from TomTom , others>' link on the preference rollup)

      On a different issue this new app seems to hammer the battery, even in the background..

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: tomtom?

        "seems to hammer the battery"

        Oh better carry some spare batteries and portable charger then, or your phone wont last till lunch time. Still you think it looks good!

        1. B_K

          Re: tomtom?

          No it's an observation that this new Google Maps app killed 20% of my battery in about an hour running in the background - A colleague also had exactly the same.

          'Still you think it looks good!' ? grow up.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: tomtom?

        >You do realise the current Apple Maps already uses TomTom data

        It's worse - Tom Tom has been updating it's PoI to aging TeleAtlas data - which prior to acquistion used it's datasharing agreement with Google Maps to acquire PoI data. Kind of hard to find a charging point or free wifi, but Little Chefs still roam freely across the nation.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: tomtom?

          Apple should just buy Google and have done with it.

    2. Another User
      Stop

      I hope not

      The TomTom app is a drain on the battery. It is the only app I have which heats up my iPhone. On hot summer days this can lead to a heat warning message and the phone shuts down.

      The Apple app lacks some basic functionality like display of speed and also lacks more advanced functionality like re-routing based on traffic, road-blocks,etc. The dismal maps are not part of the Apple maps app.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: tomtom?

      Wouldn't they have to pay money to MS in an ongoing basis in that case?

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    BEST OPTION AVAILABLE

    BIN THE SHITTY iPHONE.

    Get something decent!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: BEST OPTION AVAILABLE

      Now look here, these are IT people. You have to say:-

      "Spend the same money and get far more up-to-date faster hardware and hackable firmware and software"

      But maybe they aren't really IT people ;)

  15. dssf

    Will this be a lesson in humility?

    Capriciousness and crappiness a winner makes not....

    OK, on with the relentless down thumbing....

    1. Steve Williams

      Anyone who shows excess sensitivity to down voting...

      ...generates an automatic downvote from me.

  16. Alan Denman

    Look what got uncanned

    Now that was quite a desert flick.

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "And, of course, in the process continue to fork over your location data to Google."

    So, tracked by Apple and Google, not just Apple.

  18. Chad H.
    Mushroom

    So much for....

    So much for Google's Chicken-Little like claims that their app would be rejected - despite other mapping apps using their data already being available.

    1. Dan 55 Silver badge
      Facepalm

      Re: So much for....

      It was just to drum up publicity and therefore demand and therefore make it difficult for Apple to say no, exactly the same as Opera did.

    2. Comments are attributed to your handle
      Megaphone

      Re: Chad H.

      And your point is?

  19. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    DAMNIT!

    Now I've got no excuse for being late for work.

    Thanks very much, Apple!

    1. Wyrdness

      Re: DAMNIT!

      You need satnav to find your way to work? I hope that you never breed.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: DAMNIT!

        Not everyone works in a fixed location

  20. andy gibson

    Google maps not so perfect

    For years Google put every suburb of Sheffield as "Norton".

  21. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Google Maps....

    It simply.....works.

    1. Steve Williams

      From ABC: Australian Broadcasting Corporation

      ..."Now police in Colac, west of Melbourne, say faults with Google maps are putting people's lives at risk along the Great Ocean Road and in the southern Otways."

  22. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    Huzzah!

    It doesn't have the public transport option for the UK yet, but it *does* have traffic! Yay! Love it!

    :-)

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Huzzah!

      Public transport option is working really well in London.

  23. D@v3

    a couple of things

    So many people are and have been complaining about the iOS maps app. There is little wrong (apart from maybe the missing street view) with the app itself, it's the map data that is screwy, and i have already noticed an improvement with that since it was released, probably due to the large amount of people using it, and reporting errors.

    It's nice to have Google maps back, however, having had a bit of a look around, i can see that (much like any other mapping service) it is far from perfect. The most notable is that the area in which one of my friends lives is a new build. On the iOS map, the map still shows the old information, but the satellite photos are up to date. in google maps, the map, and the photos are out of date, but the street view data is much more current.

    There are also features missing from the Google app, that may never appear, such as being able to search for a location based on stored contact information. From my point of view, it's going to be a lot easier for Apple to improve their offering, by improving the quality of their maps, than it is for Google to improve theirs by improving the core function of their app.

    1. Hyper72

      Re: a couple of things

      It also seems that everybody's forgotten that when Google Maps first came out the media was filled with horror stories about wrong directions.

      No matter what mapping app we use, we have to use it intelligently.

      I'm happy to have street view again though.

  24. jai
    FAIL

    shame it's not any better

    I tried it this morning - was not 5 minutes away from home when I get to a roundabout - the main map display tells me to turn right and take the 3rd exit - but the quick view display at the top tells me to go straight across. Thankfully it was local to me so I knew which one was correct. But I think I'll stick to Apple Maps when I'm somewhere unfamiliar as so far I've had no issues with that.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: shame it's not any better

      Isn't the "quick view" at the top the preview that tells you what you're supposed to do at the turn after the next? I seem to remember there was a feature like that and it had confused me quite a bit initially. I haven't used any Nav software for a while though so perhaps I'm talking out of my arse.

      1. jai

        Re: shame it's not any better

        That's what I thought, but it's telling me I'm 50 feet from the roundabout in question.

        The "next turn" thing is a tiny little box under the quick. Not really viewable with a quick glance, you need to take your eyes off the road and concentrate on the screen. I guess that's not a problem on American interstates, but tricky on twisty, windy English country lanes

  25. Doozer
    Alert

    benpintilie@aim.com

    Being the big kid that I am.... I dare you all (El Reg reader are usually up for a giggle...) to submit a review into the App Store and make a reference to the Mountain View chocolate factory and Oompa Loompa's - I wonder how many will be published and I wonder how many other. I simply said "Great work by the Oompa Loompa's in the Mountain View chocolate factory, glad to see it is back"

    Stupid... Yes. Board... Yes - Lets play with Google and Apple!

  26. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    To be fair it's probably not THAT hard to lure people into a deadly desert from many parts of Australia.

    Plus, was it deadly because they didn't bring any water or Cheetos or something? Or more because their car was a pile of ....

    OK I should go read the original luring article :)

    Plus, as a final bizarre warning from history, if you have a Chevrolet/Daewoo Lacetti or a similar "elderly" GM 16V and it sounds ore than a little odd at the front end, FFS change the timing belt and water pump! Before you go into deserts!

    Actually same applies to almost ANYTHING from any maker that runs a belt not a timing chain. Some belt-driven ones are "anti-interference" like Mazda Miata/MX-5 but most aren't......

  27. Anal Leakage

    Suppose El Reg is going to run the story that the same Australian cops are now giving warning about Google Maps too?

    SACRILEGE

  28. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    Man bites dog.....

    Apple eats crow!!!

  29. FSM

    How bad can it be?

    I'm afraid I'm not an expert with privacy. Can someone please explain what data they collect from you using maps exactly? Also, I use an Android phone, but I have location services disabled. What data can google collect about Android users?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: How bad can it be?

      As an example, read item 47.

      The principal issue is that the moment you have created an account at Google, you have effectively given them permission to not only gather data on you, but use such data in a manner that is so badly documented that Google is in trouble with the EU Justice Art 29 Working Group on privacy, and has received a letter signed by 27 (yes, twenty seven) different countries asking them to ensure their privacy policy becomes compliant with EU law (which is isn't, not by a long shot).

      More specifically, the mapping app records what places you look up, and it can track where you are - all of which gets recorded for whatever use Google finds for it. Basically, you carry a stalker in your pocket if you log in to a Google account..

      You will hear a lot of blabla from people claiming that Apple does the same, but there is one, rather crucial difference: Apple doesn't generate revenue from user data, it's a hardware company with services, whereas Google exclusively makes its income from data derived from a somewhat overly creative approach to user privacy..

  30. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    How soon before Apple removes it and all other map apps because they violate the Apple ToS? The ToS that Apple makes all developers agree to is that they will not replicate any built-in function/feature of the phone. Apple has removed previous apps that were previously allowed but when Apple added that functionality in, all completing apps were removed.

    The fact is, Apple only allowed it because their app is crap, but when they sort it out I expect to see Google, Nokia, TomTom, Garmin, etc. all to see their apps removed from the store.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      It's not just crap, it's proven wrong and dangerous. They should have the law after them.

  31. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    Navigation Beta?

    I cannot remember how long this functionality has been available in Google Maps for Android, as a stable release, that is.

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