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Comment by css771 | Hacker News Reader

I dont see much incentive for Google to release an app right away. The people who are going to install a native app from the app store will use the web version anyway. And Google can still get to serve location based ads on the browser for places.

I wouldn't be surprised if they just improve the web version some more and call it a day. If you want good Maps, they might want to make you switch to Android.

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The majority of users are non-technical.

They want easy access to their maps, but yet most lack even the knowledge to navigate to maps.google.com in safari and then the ability to make a link on their home screen.

The longer google waits to release a map, the larger the marketshare of people using apple maps grows because there is no "easier" option, and people don't care.

If people want google maps back, and the answer is as simple as installing something from the app store, that is a small hurdle for the general public, as it is a familiar action.

If they are told that if they want to use Google maps that they need to use Safari or create a web link on their desktop, most users will not bother.

It's sad, but it's true.

While I'm not an iOS user, and you may be correct about average users, getting to a web app is simpler than installing and running an app:

       App                           Web
    1. Open app store                Open browser
    2. Search for google maps        Search for google maps
    3. Click first result            Click first result
    4. Install
    5. Open app

This. To be completely honest, I have to say that outside US (for sure in Rome), the "new" Apple maps are not significantly worse than the previous (Google) ones.

The old Maps lacks bicycle directions. I grit my teeth and use it anyway, since bicycle directions are only, say, 20% of what I need maps for, and I can usually kind of guess about bike routes.

But the new Maps lacks both bicycle AND transit directions, which means it only does, maybe 50% of what I need it for. It's basically only good for seeing where things are and where I am. It's basically useless for me for routing. No way I'm "upgrading".

Man, I miss the Maps app on Android. It even told me when I had to leave the house to make a specific bus.

Actually, in many places in Europe Google transit directions were non-existent or useless, and apps providing similar or better functionality are very common.

* Netherlands -> 9292

* Poland -> JakDojadę + Bilkom

* Zurich -> Wemlin + SBB Mobile

* In Germany I only know the trains one, which would be DB Navigator (for some reason separate from DB Tickets).

This seriously simply "depends"; there are a ton of people discussing this issue in different locations on an r/apple thread on reddit called "Apple maps in iOS 6 is useless if you live in small countries/cities".

http://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/1013ha/apple_maps_in_...

Some people, such as a few specifically living in New Zealand and Belgium, are reporting reasonably similar quality to Google Maps. However, many are not:

"I live in Oslo, the capital of Norway. The quality of the maps are so bad that I spent an hour or so just laughing."

"Here in The Netherlands the maps app isn't providing any useful information on landmarks, shops, hospitals.. etc. heck, even Amsterdam Central Station isn't mentioned."

"I live in Torshavn - The Faroe Islands." <- the guy who started the thread with this image -> http://i.imgur.com/7ZI66.jpg

"India :("

They are "sh*t" in Turkey. Just cloning OpenStreetMaps does not give them a good Point-of-Interests (POI) database. They don't have any hospitals, post offices, stop buses, subways etc.

I can hear a lot of people complaining on twitter. My friends who use iPhone are really regretting upgrading to iOS6 (we are in India). Two of them have also started considering buying android phones just for the maps.

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