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Apple announced several new map features at this year’s WWDC but if you were hoping for evidence of a turnaround from last year’s mapping fiasco then you are not going to feel 100{813a954d5e225a1509f22204ece89c855080ce25555f20805f61bed63cbfde3b} satisfied. The new OS X app looks like an extension of the iOS app and while the ability to share routes directly to your iPhone is something that is designed with elegance and promises efficiency, it is a feature that doesn’t justify a switch back from using the superior Google Maps.
Further evidence of Apple either being unwilling to pay the price for further mapping development or perhaps confidence in their ability to develop on their own is an announcement that Google has acquired social traffic expert Waze, reportedly for over a billion dollars. The premise behind Waze is integrating social interactions with other drivers to get a better picture of traffic and alternate routes.
“Waze is the world’s fastest-growing community-based traffic and navigation app. Join other drivers in your area who share real-time traffic and road info, saving everyone time and gas money on their daily commute.”
Tracking people is a hot topic this week with news of the NSA accessing what many consider to be private data. What many people don’t realize is that map apps use crowd sourced location data, provided freely by apps such as Google Maps, to provide information about traffic and best routes. While this data is said to be anonymous, it is still ironic that the general public is outraged at a breach in privacy when we so willing share personal data every day. Certainly the events of this week will shape legislation on the sharing of data which will trickle down to affect how mapping apps can collect and use such data.
Another side to this is that Apple has struggled in the past with integrating social media options in some of their core applications, such as Ping in iTunes. Ping integration wasn’t a huge failure but it definitely wasn’t a success and perhaps Apple saw the availability of Waze as a distraction to the core issues that exist within Apple Maps.
For now Google is keeping Waze as a separate entity, maintaining their offices and team in Israel, but it appears that they are investing in ways to move their Maps app in new directions and continuously looking for ways to keep it competitive. If Apple wants to become more competitive in the mapping arena then they are going to have to do more than make a really awesome Flyover feature and focus on the tools that are used day in and day out by average users.
» Related posts:
Is Apple Acquiring Waze, the Popular Social Turn-By-Turn Navigation Company?
Apple Focused on Improving New Maps App, Recruiting Google Maps Employees
Apple Working with Foursquare to Improve Maps App
