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Google Maps is getting more detailed spoken walking directions
Google is rolling out a Maps update that adds more in-depth spoken walking directions, with the aim of helping vision-impaired people navigate with more ease. The detailed voice guidance feature will inform users when to turn and tell them when they're approaching a large intersection, so they can exercise more caution when crossing. If users accidentally move away from their route, the voice will let them know Maps is re-routing them.
Google Maps works with Apple CarPlay following iOS 12 update
We've known since WWDC in June that iOS 12 would herald the arrival of Google Maps on CarPlay. Apple released the latest version of the iPhone and iPad software Monday, and after Google updated its app to support CarPlay, you can now use that navigation option on your car's infotainment system.
Garmin's new app lowers the price of premium navigation
While Garmin is no stranger to mobile navigation apps, it has continued charging $30 or more for its StreetPilot software even after breaking out some components as in-app purchases. That's a hard bargain in an era when phones offer GPS tricks like lane assistance for free. Clearly, the company is aware of this discrepancy -- it just unveiled Viago, an app for Android and iPhones that tries to bridge the pricing gap. Fork over $2 ($1 until July 13th) and you'll get worldwide maps alongside lane assistance, realistic junction views, speed limits, weather and traffic. You only pay more for the features you want, and some of them are unique -- Real Directions gives you directions based on landmarks rather than street names, while Active Lane Guidance simplifies taking that next off-ramp.
One not-so-secret reason Apple built its own Maps for iOS 6
In the uproar over iOS 6's move to Apple's homegrown Maps service, the driving theme is user frustration (not to say outright anger). Even the most ardent apologists have to acknowledge that Maps has serious issues, and the company's critics are having a field day. Some of the challenges may be remediable in the short term, while others may take far longer to address effectively. Apple is reportedly doing deep-dive recruiting into the fallow, contract-complete engineering pool that helped to build Google Maps in the first place. Yes, this stuff is hard. We're going to dive into the Maps conundrum (and a little product launch from Friday) on tonight's Talkcast, so bring your suggestions, complaints and consolations. You can connect to us live here at 10pm Eastern Sunday night, or listen in after the fact. For iOS 6 users, especially those who upgraded without realizing that Maps was changing under their feet, things are awkward. In the short term, we're seeing a lot of workarounds and substitutions for everything from Google's Street View feature (the $0.99 Live Street View app does a fine job) to transit directions (if they cover where you live, Embark's offerings are sharp and accurate) to simply going with a bookmark to the mobile version of Google Maps itself. We're also seeing a lot of enthusiastic attribution of motives: "Apple wants to force its customers to use its own products, even when they are not as good as those from rivals," opines Joe Nocera in the New York Times. "They put their own priorities for corporate strategy ahead of user experience," suggests Anil Dash. "Apple put crapware on their most important product on purpose in order to screw a rival at the expense of users," claims Mike Elgan over at Cult of Mac. (Elgan's post suggests that Apple is obsessed with Google, but he also says that "Google+ is the Google Maps of social networks," which makes me wonder if perhaps he hasn't got some other things mixed up.) Those assertions make for strong narratives and good, meaty, angry articles. They're forceful, and have the ring of truth. But to suggest that the only reason Apple would make this change is for the sake of forcing Google off of iOS -- punishing users in the process, without a care or a caution -- is naive and mistaken. Apple's move away from Google's maps isn't about screwing users to make a corporate political point; it's about trying to give iOS users a better maps experience in the long run. What's the one big thing that Android devices -- since 2.0, in 2009 -- have been able to do with their maps that iOS devices, natively and without expensive third-party apps, couldn't do? Realtime, turn by turn navigation. The feature that lets you replace your $100-and-up dashboard GPS unit with only your phone and your voice, included in the box with millions of Android phones. A specific, unarguable and easy-to-market differentiating feature. Droid does; iPhone doesn't. Why doesn't the Google-backed Maps app on iOS 5 do realtime nav? Well, as Ars Technica pointed out in June, it's simply not allowed in the Google API license agreement for Maps. Easy enough for Google to provide the feature to its own operating system (once the underlying map data licensing hurdles were cleared when it turned over from NAVTEQ data to its own geobase in the late 2000s), but third parties? Nope. This was confirmed as a constraint when developers asked the question at WWDC several years ago. No realtime nav, no vector map tiles, no way. But, surely, Google and Apple could make a deal to get around that pesky license? Given the special relationship between the two companies? Apparently not. As iMore notes and the Wall Street Journal delves into, Google was not willing to license turn-by-turn to Apple. Perhaps Apple drove too hard a bargain; perhaps Google's team wanted more access to user data, or to bundle the Latitude find-your-pals application into the mapping suite. Some suggest that Google wanted to keep turn-by-turn as a competitive tool for Android. But Charles Arthur's assertion in the Guardian that Apple "didn't want it" regarding realtime nav appears to be unfounded. Apple wanted it; Google wouldn't give it up. Google's role as the mapping provider for iOS was never an easy fit from a corporate perspective, but it became downright untenable when the intransigence over turn-by-turn kept the iPhone's mapping capability a generation behind the Android front line. Navigation isn't a trivial feature; getting a solid app for your driving directions can cost real money, or require an ongoing subscription. Apple's users were getting the fuzzy end of the lollipop because Apple didn't own the technology -- and that's the horse driving the cart in this case, not the other way around. If Apple can't build products that include the features users want most, they won't be insanely great, they won't delight, and they won't sell. That's the not-so-secret reason for the change to Apple's Maps. If iPhone users couldn't do turn-by-turn directions for free, Apple surmised, at some point they would stop being iPhone users. Maybe that's a crass, commercial reason, but it's not politics; it's real features for real customers. And it's part and parcel with other Google-controlled or blocked features (voice search for Maps, requiring a Maps tile to show whenever the geocoder is used, high-quality vector Maps for Retina) that were dragging the platform behind. None of that helps the current facts on the ground, as it were, when it comes to Maps in iOS 6, even if Apple should have leapt off long ago. In fact, users of pre-iPhone 4S devices may be extra peeved, as they don't even get the benefits of the turn-by-turn nav as they're sacrificing the data depth and accuracy of the Google infrastructure. This stuff is hard, and perhaps Apple's sin here is one of hubris -- thinking that the company had the smarts to solve several genuine problems at once, without realizing that the problems are actually that difficult. It's unfair and unfactual to say, as Joe Nocera does, that the Maps iOS 6 situation would not have come off the tracks the way it has if Steve Jobs were still running the company. Goodness knows, hubris -- and failure -- were things Steve had plenty of experience with, as Jean-Louis Gassée points out. But what is true is that Tim Cook and his team now face the challenge of rebuilding some user trust, explaining why they chose this path, and actually fixing the Maps app without resorting to any reality distortion fields. Thanks to Rene Ritchie for research help on this post.
Google Maps Navigation for Android hits nine MENA nations, adds Arabic voice search
If there is one thing you can't say about Google's mapping team, it's that they are a lazy bunch. Update after update puts paid to any of that kinda talk, and again, here's another example -- navigation for Android is now available in nine more countries. It's the Middle East and North Africa that get the attention this time, with Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar, Algeria, Bahrain, Kuwait, UAE and Saudia Arabia all getting the update. The service comes complete with Arabic voice search as well as "search along route" for routes to near-by POIs that won't take you the long way round. You'll need Android 4.0 or above if you want in on the action, but it's available now for those that do.
Telenav Scout for Apps comes to Android and Windows Phone, Scout Drive Button released for website-based nav
iOS app devs got Telenav turn-by-turn navigation access in March of this year, and now the same can be said for folks programming for Android and Windows Phone. In case you forgot, the Scout for Apps platform allows developers to incorporate Scout's personalized navigation directly into their applications. Not only that, but Telenav's making it easier for website owners to do the same for their websites with the release of the Scout Drive Button. The button puts the power of browser-based GPS mapping in an easy-to-implement widget, for free, with no coding expertise required. It also allows users to click the Drive button in their desktop browser to send a link to their phones that'll launch navigation directly, as opposed to inputting the address into a nav app manually. Interested? More info awaits after the break, and devs can get down and dirty with both Scout for Apps and the Drive widget at the sources below.
TomTom refreshes Navigation app for iOS, adds social features
TomTom has refreshed its Navigation App for iPhone and iPad with a new user interface, Foursquare integration and constantly updated maps. It'll also automatically check into your favorite hangouts to avoid forgetting to oust your frenemies at your local coffee house. The revised application will also help you avoid French speed traps that don't fall foul of new laws on traffic alerts, with the whole thing playing very nice with the recently announced car kit. The app retails for $50 (€70) in the App Store -- although we're not sure how popular it's going to be if those same features will be bundled in iOS 6.
TomTom opens up MapShare to all 60 million of its GPS units (video)
TomTom has seen the inexorable rise of smartphone navigation and decided that it needs a cheaper way of updating its head units. Its cunning solution has been to open its MapShare community to all 60 million TomToms in the wild -- which was previously limited just to smartphone apps and select devices. MapShare works by allowing users to update their, erm, maps, when they spot a change has been made, which is then uploaded when they get home. It'll now be aggregated and pushed out as a free daily download. Users can filter updates, deciding if they want ones submitted by "some," "many" or those officially verified by the company itself -- so don't bother trying to game the system to make your morning commute easier.
Driving around with Maps for iOS 6
Much of the excitement in iOS6 centers on the new Maps app. It replaces the Google Maps-powered version that's been part of iOS since the beginning The revamped Maps adds Flyover (3D aerial perspectives) for some cities; it also offers spoken turn-by-turn navigation, a feature that the old Maps never offered for iOS but that Google baked into Android phones. Maps in iOS 6 also integrates Siri for search on supported devices. Unfortunately, only newer devices get the snazzy features; turn-by-turn requires an iPhone 4S or an iPad (2 or new), for example, and obviously Siri is only available on the 4S & soon the new iPad. I made quite a few trips using the beta iOS 6 Maps app, and have lots of impressions. Keep in mind, the app really is beta. Some of the data is flaky; for example I was looking for a location in southern Utah by zip code and was directed to the east coast of the US. Never fear, these little glitches will get fixed by the time iOS 6 is released to the public in the fall. OK, let's get driving. The first really big advantage of this app is the direct integration with Siri. Say "take me to the nearest Home Depot" and you'll see a map with a pin on it. Touch the pin, press the start button and off you go. The map works in landscape or portrait mode, and that familiar Siri voice will guide you through each turn. When you arrive it will tell you if your destination is on the right or to the left. You can also say "Take me home" and if your home address is notated in your contacts, you'll be ready to navigate. The maps themselves look pretty similar to the Google variety, and you get a choice of a flat map, 3D or satellite. If you are in a big city, you'll see Flyover's beautiful 3D renderings of buildings. I did a brief check and saw that feature work in Chicago and Seattle. Flyover is very pretty, but not much use when driving. Viewing all that detail or playing with the map is not something you should do when your attention should be on the road. If your destination includes reviews from Yelp, you'll see the reviews when you ask for the destination, as well as photos if there are any. If you are in 3D mode, you can rotate around a location by rotating 2 fingers on the screen, and zoom in or out in the usual way by pinching or dragging. Of course you can bookmark any location, add it to contacts, or share the location with someone else. If you are properly equipped, you can print the information to a local printer. Overall, the app is similar to the older Maps app, but the iOS 5 app doesn't provide Siri voice integration or turn-by-turn directions. Like the older Maps app, map data is downloaded over the air, so a data connection is required. Without one, you'll see a dot representing your location, but the map will be blank. You can contrast that with apps like the Navigon family, where the map data is permanently resident on your device, and a cellular connection is not required. Still, for most people, the Apple app will be more than enough. The integration with Siri, Yelp, and the ease of use is a real plus. Just telling Siri where you want to go is really great, and a very compelling reason to use this app over other navigation solutions that involve some fiddling to set up. There is traffic data built in, and the app will offer alternate directions if conditions warrant it. Traffic was working in my city, and was color coded and superimposed over my route. Note that at this point, there are no public transit directions or pedestrian directions. For some urban users, this is a big missing item. Apple has said it will rely on 3rd party apps for this, but they are unlikely to be integrated into the Apple Maps app. [Cocoanetics has an interesting perspective on why this is the right move for Apple to make. –Ed.] Clearly, Apple was motivated to meet Google and Android head on, and they are well on the way. Google has had years of collecting data and getting the map experience to be very friendly. Apple has started from scratch, with a few key purchases of mapping companies, and come very close. There are no street level views with the Apple app. Google has that feature pretty wrapped up for itself, but for getting easily from point A to point B, Apple is offering an excellent solution that I think will become the first choice for many users. It's unfortunate that turn-by-turn navigation isn't supported on the iPhone 4, but Apple wants to sell you the latest phone and this is a not-so-gentle nudge to get you back to an Apple store. Even with some obvious bugs, and a few crashes, I was impressed with the new Maps. It will be a challenge for Google. Will it offer turn-by-turn voice navigation for the iPhone, or just concede? For older devices, will this be an opportunity for vendors like Navigon, Motion X and TomTom to sell up -- or for free turn-by-turn apps like AOL's Mapquest or Waze to get more traction? Competition is good, and Apple has thrown down the gauntlet. I think the other nav app companies with iOS products are going to feel uncomfortable with Apple in this business, but it's likely they will aggressively compete and we will all benefit. Check the gallery for screenshots of Maps in action. %Gallery-158418% Editor's Note: Mel is not personally subject to the iOS 6 NDA.
Apple possibly held back by Google for years on iOS' Maps features, might bring turn-by-turn nav to WWDC
The tales of Apple possibly dumping Google Maps as the backend for iOS 6's Maps app are gathering steam, but we're now learning just how much forethought may have gone into the split. According to the WSJ's favorite tipsters, "people familiar with the matter," Apple isn't just hoping to spurn Android -- it's reacting to push-back it got years earlier. Google supposedly delayed Street View, and blocked Google Maps Navigation outright, as it wasn't getting the limelight for branding and couldn't push in social tracking services that tend to make a privacy-sensitive Apple jittery, like Latitude. The August 2009 buyout of Placebase was ground zero for Apple's shift, which saw subsequent deals for Poly9 and C3 Technologies flesh out the project. As for the end results? They supposedly include turn-by-turn navigation that mimics an "in-car GPS device," and regular mapping should now be free to integrate with other apps: Calendar might warn you if a traffic jam on Interstate 280 will affect that appointment at 1 Infinite Loop, as an example. We might not have long to wait for the truth behind the new tips and earlier leaked shots, as the contacts believe Apple could show its Maps overhaul when WWDC starts next week.
Telenav launches browser-based turn-by-turn GPS navigation using HTML 5
Telenav's been bringing the turn-by-turn goods to both Android and iOS for quite a while now, and has added plenty of nifty features to its GPS platform along the way -- from personalized routes to offline access. Now, the company has unveiled plans to put its navigation in every HTML5-capable browser on the planet, and the best part is, it's free. The new service is available now for a select group of developers, who can add Telenav's voice-guided GPS by plugging in a single line of code into their websites or apps. The service will eventually be released for consumers and all developers, but for those devs who'd like to dip their toe into Telenav's web-based waters early, the company's accepting applications now. The GPS bar has officially been raised... the question is, how will the team in Mountain View respond?
Navigon's MobileNavigator comes to US Android devices
Germany navigation firm Navigon's turn-by-turn app for Android has been available in some European countries for much of the year, but it's hitting the US for the first time this week. Major features include the so-called "Reality Scanner," Navigon's take on augmented reality, lane-level navigation, a database of speed and red light cameras (seriously, don't go through red lights, okay?), and "MyRoutes," offering you a selection of up to three routes to your destination based on your driving habits. It's available in the Android Market starting today; Navigon's running a two-week special for $39.99, after which it'll go up to $59.99. Follow the break for the full press release.
Navigon shows off new release for iPhone with multitasking compatibility
Of the app categories to benefit most from iOS 4's new multitasking features, turn-by-turn navigation is certainly pretty high on the list -- after all, no one wants their route to be interrupted by a phone call mere moments before a critical intersection or exit ramp. Navigon has just posted a video showing off the multitasking compatibility in the upcoming 1.6 release of its iPhone app, and it's pretty neat -- you can switch out of the app and come back to the exact same place where you left off, of course, but it'll also continue to play voice guidance during phone calls (hopefully, you can turn that off if you find it annoying). Follow the break for the video.
Bing app for WinMo 6.x phones adds turn-by-turn navigation
Turns out Google isn't the only one pushing further into the turn-by-turn market this week -- Microsoft came out swinging today with the announcement that full car navigation capability has been added to the latest version of its Bing app for Windows Mobile 6.x devices, too. It's got the usual array of route configuration options for avoiding traffic and tolls, alerts, direction lists, and voice prompts -- and Microsoft describes the audible directions as an "amazingly lifelike voice experience," so our expectations are set appropriately. Interestingly, the turn-by-turn capabilities of the new app aren't to Verizon subscribers for some ominous reason, but folks using a laundry list of devices on Sprint, T-Mobile, and AT&T can get all the capabilities by updating their already-installed Bing app or visiting Bing's site for the download. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Nokia E71 and E66 owners get free Ovi Maps navigation
Nokia's new Ovi Maps software just made its way to the venerable E71 and E66 business handsets. While Nokia was constrained from offering its premium nav services like Guide Michelin and Lonely Planet on these legacy S60 3.1 handsets, owners are nevertheless being treated to free walk and drive navigation with turn-by-turn guidance. So really, you can't complain... unless of course you picked up a US-flavored E71x which isn't eligible for the free update. Check the full press release after the break for download instructions and a list of compatible devices.
MapQuest iPhone gets free voice navigation; TomTom lifetime map and traffic PNDs now available (update: Navigon MobileNavigator 1.5 too)
Chalk up another two wins for cheap consumer GPS. Like Google Maps Navigation before it, the MapQuest 4 Mobile iPhone app has just now added gratis turn-by-turn voice directions... and ahead of schedule, TomTom has begun bundling its new 2010 Personal Navigation Devices, including the XL 340S and the XXL 540S -- with lifetime traffic and maps subscriptions. The latter are now available on Amazon for a $30-per-lifetime-subscription premium in a variety of increasingly feature-filled flavors, with helpful T (traffic), M (maps) and TM (traffic and maps) suffixes so you know which TomTom is which. If you prefer buying from brick and mortar, TomTom expects retail availability beginning in April. Full list of supported TomTom models and expected MSRP after the break. Update: The 1.5.0 iPhone update to MobileNavigator from Navigon that includes MyRoutes, Facebook and Twitter integration, and Panorama View 3D is finally up on iTunes as well.
Sygic Mobile Maps for Nokia N900 brings turn-by-turn to Maemo
Nokia may still not have brought turn-by-turn navigation to Maemo with its own Ovi Maps, but N900 users can now get their fix courtesy of Sygic, which has just released a version of its Mobile Maps app for the device. Available only in Europe to start with, the app costs €60, and includes maps of both eastern and western Europe, along with the usual "millions" of points-of-interest, speed camera locations and speed limit warnings, and plenty of customization options (including support for multiple languages). No firm word on availability outside of Europe just yet, but Sygic does say that additional regions will be announced "gradually." Head on past the break for a quick demo video. [Thanks, Brad C]
Nokia updates N97 with free Ovi Maps, just as promised
It was only a week ago when Nokia shook us with its free turn-by-turn navigation update, but the poor old N97 got left out in the cold. Not any more though, folks! In fact, the new Ovi Maps for N97 was delivered one day earlier than promised, and can be found "through the software update client in the device." Thanks, Nokia, but don't forget your N900 fans, too. [Thanks, @old_no_7uk]
AT&T Navigator for iPhone updated
Not wanting to feel left out of the festival of updates for GPS apps, AT&T has given AT&T Navigator [iTunes link] some new features that are sure to please people who use the app. Here's what's new: Full landscape view integration Enhanced iPod controls with the ability to search through your songs, artists, etc. from within the app Inclusion of AT&T Wi-Fi Hotspots in the POI listings Seamless blending of navigation prompts and music for easy listening The app itself is free, but you have to sign up for a U.S. $9.99/month subscription or get a $69.99 annual subscription. You can see some more details on the upgrade and watch a video of the Navigator in action here. One nice feature of the app is you can just sign up for a month to take you through holiday travel, and then drop your subscription. Unlike many of the GPS apps for the iPhone, this app requires a cellular signal, because all the maps and info are streamed in over the network.
Snoop Dogg: the GPS industry's secret weapon against Google
You know what TomTom has that Google Maps Navigation doesn't? Snoop. D. O. Double G. Voice Skins, the same company that brought Homer Simpson to the world of turn-by-turn, paid tha cost to hire da boss himself, which is now available for $12.95 and compatible with all TomTom devices. The Doggfather telling us how to get to Taco Bell? Let's face it, sharp lefts really are so fly. Crank up the bass, videos are after the break. [Thanks, Brandon]
