The Apple Maps Debacle is Overblown
Marco Tabini, iOS developer and contributor to TidBITS:
Google data isn’t much better than Apple data, at least as far as this test is concerned
The more time I spend with Apple's maps, the more I think this thing has been blown way out of proportion, at least in the United States.
I spent my entire work day on Friday tracking down various locations in Google Earth. What should have only taken a few hours took all day beacuse Google's data is so bad. Search results are often in the wrong location. Sometimes they're just a few yards off and sometimes they're miles off.
I'm thankful for Bing Maps. While it's not my go-to mapping solution, as it's lacking in features, it's sometimes more accurate than Google. If not for Bing, I often wouldn't be able to find what I need.
Meanwhile, I used Apple's maps all day yesterday to get around my small town, navigate to Nashville, navigate around Nashville, then get home. Other than a Bluetooth bug that caused the spoken directions to stutter, the navigation was flawless. If you've ever been to Nashville, you know it's full of twisty, poorly designed roads that often confound visitors.
Apple's maps are much better than they've been given credit for, while Google's are overrated. I'm sure the Chinese would agree.
If people want to find things to complain about with Apple, I could offer some better suggestions:
- Siri. It's still unreliable a year after its debut.
- Excessive data usage in iOS 6.
- Limited stock of the Lightning cable.
- The crappiness of Apple's other online services.
Via Daring Fireball