Thursday, October 15. 2009

NYT Reviews iPhone Nav Apps: Not all Rosy

Erica Taub writes the review and notes:

Of the four GPS apps I tested — from major navigation companies — each crashed several times, jolting my iPhone back to the home screen. Occasionally, the iPhone did not seem to recognize that I was even using the GPS feature, and the phone simply shut off. None of the apps could keep up with my driving. I often made a turn or reached an intersection before the map redrew to indicate that I had. At other times, the app showed me making a turn before I actually had.

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Satellite Navigation, Apple at 09:39 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |

Update: Coming for the iPhone: Old Map App

Update: Just got the good word that the app has been renamed Historic Earth and is now available. Further, it's now a partnership with Historic Map Works, and accesses that organization's "exclusive collection of more than 30,000 geo-referenced maps."

[Marketing comment] Martin did his social media homework! His e-mail reminding me that I wrote about the app earlier was key in getting me to provide this update. A generic "we launched e-mail" may not have caught my attention.

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Google, Open Source, Apple at 06:00 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |

Monday, October 12. 2009

iPhone Users More Likely to Use Nav, but few Use Anything Other than GMaps

Recent research from Compete found that 55% of iPhone owners use navigation and/or GPS at least a few times a week, compared with just 31% of the total smartphone population. But while people are using navigation on their phones, they're not downloading many apps (only 22% use something other than the preloaded Google Maps) and they're not willing to pay much more than $5 for them, said Danielle Nohe, director-consumer technologies at Compete.

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Google, Apple at 06:00 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |

Tuesday, October 6. 2009

There's a Map for That: Verizon Takes on AT&T

One of the big complaints of iPhone users is the variance in AT&T 3G coverage across the US. Some areas are fine, some uncovered and some, like San Francisco are notoriously poor. So, Verizon, which may itself host the iPhone, once's AT&T's exclusive deal runs out, is making waves. It riffs on Apple's "there's an app for that" in a campaign launched Monday. It includes the slogan, "There's a map for that" to highlight its more complete coverage map. Clever? Perhaps. Petty? Some think so. Will it matter? It's unclear if it will help or hurt Verizon's chances of getting an iPhone deal here in the U.S!

- Digital Daily (All Things D) - includes video of the ad

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Apple at 06:00 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |

Friday, October 2. 2009

Many Say Apple Buys Placebase

The San Jose Business Journal has the story. And, Caitlin at GISLounge cites the path of discovery. I knew Placebase was gone and I knew Jaron Waldman was at Apple. But I've still not seen confirmation from Apple that this true and have contacted the company for confirmation.

If true, this is pretty cool - I was a big fan of Placebase. (1, 2, 3) Does this mean Apple will have its own in-house mapping apps for all its devices? And for developers to use?

via @gletham

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Apple at 06:00 | Comment (1) | Trackbacks (0) |

Thursday, October 1. 2009

Update: MotionX GPS App for iPhone - NAVTEQ Data and Low Cost

Updated 10/1: Title and text updated per comment from FullPower to note the app does not use OpenStreetMap (below).

----

I'm trying hard not to get too wrapped up in all the iPhone nav apps, but I am interested in the reaction of the planet as each one appears. When the TomTom app came out for the iPhone the folks on Buzz Out Loud (BOL, the C|net podcast of indeterminate length) criticized the price and attributed it to the cost of the data (provided by Tele Atlas, which it owns). Now, InformationWeek previews MotionX-GPS for iPhone in part because of its low price $2.99 and $25 annual subscription.

The app uses deCarta tech and NAVTEQ data (from FAQ), so that's not what dropped the price. Another of the company's products does use OpenStreetMap.

---- original text --- errors included -----
I had to dig a bit on the website, but it seems the app uses OpenStreetMap. (I'm a bit confused since GPS Business News says it uses NAVTEQ.) Also noteworthy: the company behind it is FullPower and headed by former Borland CEO Philippe Kahn. Gosh I loved Borland! My first real job, at a consulting firm, used Quattro. One of my colleagues, a programmer, won a big award for automating the processing of data from our Gas Chromatograph all in Quattro.

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Open Source, Apple at 19:29 | Comments (3) | Trackbacks (0) |