Tuesday, September 25, 2012

iOS 6 - Apple maps needs to find a shorter route to the correct destination

We all have heard a lot about Apple Maps lately. The verdict is already out. A forgettable job by Apple. The last full update(Iphone 4) had the dropped signal issue and now it is the maps. I usually don't like to get involved in the Apple/Android war but this was one incident, I couldn't resist writing about.
Yes, I have an iPhone. It is an iPhone 4 and I recently updated to iOS 6. I am on AT&T and want to move to T-mobile. I am eligible for an upgrade but I will skip the upgrade this time for reasons I would like to keep out of this blog entry. So on a Sunday morning, when I am finished buying groceries at the nearby Lucky's, the first thing I do is search for a T-mobile store on my new Apple maps and this is what it shows-



So I start driving and I find another Lucky's supermarket at my destination and no T-mobile store anywhere close. That was such a shame.

So tried to search for the same route from Google maps and this is what I get-

Interestingly, the place is in an opposite direction all together.
Then I tried to move the destination pin to the location where Apple maps was locating the T-mobile store and this is what I get-


So it looks like there is not a problem with locating the address alone, but also the route taken. Google maps takes me via a simpler route- a U turn and a right turn but Apple maps goes through a series of twists and turns, getting on the highway, changing lanes etc. The route by Google maps is also shorter 3.2 miles (to the wrong destination of course)

I am not an expert, but I guess Apple needs to map the correct co-ordinates to the expected destination and also debug those algorithms for shortest route possible. It will be a while before I trust Apple maps. Meanwhile, I will use my secondary phone, Nokia N8 for my navigation needs.

On a side note, Nokia 920 does sound appealing to me.




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