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Comment by azar1 | Hacker News Reader

Apple Maps only looks bad because barely anyone has used it. Try comparing Google Maps from launch day in 2005 to Google Maps from now.

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So you're saying in another 7 years and Apple maps should be good? I understand the strategic motivation for switching to something they can control, but it really is a big step back for iPhone users.

Google Maps blew everyone the day it came out.

I think I would have remembered that.

And yet, apparently you didn't.

The day google maps came out was basically the last day I used mapquest.

I didn't remember it because it didn't happen (parse the original sentence a little more carefully :-)

Ooops.

This is basically true. Before Google maps, mapquest was the best thing out there and it wasn't even remotely as interactive or easy to use.

I'm pretty sure I switched the day it debuted.

Yes - I remember the exact moment I first saw google maps and their clever ajaxy magical behavior. The only time I recall being so astonished by technology was the first time I used an iPhone.

Google Maps was the iPhone of Mapping, and continues to be so. And, much the same way others are pretty good (Bing Maps isn't bad) - they are all still compared to Google Maps.

Apple Maps is the Zune? No, that's not a good comparison, the Zune was a competent technical product. The Kin? Maybe not that bad. Apple maps is the Kindle Fire (original) of Mapping. Starts off kind of crappy, but might turn into something better with a lot of work. People will still want an iPad though.

The point isn't if Apple Maps will be good or not. The point is that Apple won't give us what we want and that is Google Maps.

There is a better product out there, and until yesterday I had easy access to it on my phone and now I don't (sorry I don't like loading up google maps in the browser).

If I had to bet, I'd say Apple won't approve Google Maps native app for a while just to force people into using their Maps hoping we'd get used to it.

That's true (or may be true), but unfortunately nobody is comparing Google Maps circa 2005 to Google Maps today. They're comparing Google Maps today to Apple Maps today and finding the latter wanting.

That's not how things work. That's like saying "look at how crappy the Model-T ford is compared to a Civic". Time matters. Having a good product compared to the competition right now is what matters. If google tried to roll back to the 2005 version of google maps they would get creamed in the marketplace, and rightly so. There's no excuse for having an inferior product.

2 beers later and I realize this is a really bad comment. However, I still believe that despite the insane failure that Apple's Maps are, they will only get better with more user input.

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