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September 21st 2012 2:31 pm

Avoid getting lost with your new iPhone!

We've all heard the complaints: While iOS 6 brings a few great new features to the iPhone 5 (and some other iOS devices), the new Maps app doesn't match the Google Maps app that came with earlier versions of iOS. Gone are Street View, mass-transit directions, and Google's robust info on points of interest. But all isn't lost. Google Maps will be coming back to iOS, and it's reasonable to expect Apple's native app to improve. In the meantime, we've picked a few of our favorite mapping and transit apps and added them to our list of Must-have apps. Take a look, and share your faves here!

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Honestly, as long as Google Maps makes an entrance to the App Store at some point then it really won't matter if there is a half baked Apple app. People will be able to use whichever service suits them the best.

One of the first apps I install on any BlackBerry I have owned is Google Maps, mostly because I don't think RIM's own BlackBerry maps is as well done (Sound familiar?). I then forget BB Maps even exists and use Google Maps as a default service. No harm, no foul. The same is likely to happen with Apple maps and Google Maps, and people are already searching for alternative mapping solutions.

I have no doubt that Apple Maps is something that Apple will heavily invest in and improve, even if they are currently behind at this point in time. Having mobs of unhappy customers is going to drive them even harder to achieve success in this area.

Sources are saying that a Google Maps app is ready and waiting approval. However such an approval may undermine Apple's efforts to get their "crowdsourced" mapping application some data.

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I'm waiting to upgrade my iPhone 4S until a Google Maps App hits the App Store. I'm a bit concerned though about the ease of use and interconnectedness of iOS 6 Apple Maps vs iOS 5 Google Maps at the OS level. A lot of apps, including ones such as Yelp, Urbanspoon and the like have maps and directions features that route you to iOS's "preferred" (only) built in maps/directions application. Unlike other mobile OSs like Android, you currently cannot pick your default, system level maps app, in the same sense that Safari is always the default browser instead of Chrome. This is going to be a serious usability issue for me and other people I believe. At least Safari is functional. What ever happened to Apple's marketing campaign "it just works"?
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This is a very good point, and something I indeed thought about after the fact. Apple does actively want you to use their system and has it set up to do this conveniently.

I suppose the best you can do is copy/paste addresses into Google Maps or at the worst case make the move to android- assuming mapping is a very very important feature for you. However I feel an ecosystem shift is way too drastic for a lot of users, thus they will get used to the change over time
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Apple maps in my area (northwest Washington) are fine, just as good as Google's. Neither one has any of their fancy features here — no transit info for our dinky little countywide bus service; no traffic info from either company, and they both miss some of the side roads here and there but have almost everything in most of the county.

For me, it's been an upgrade, since the data's roughly the same quality but the maps are easier to read, faster to load, and the new turn-by-turn is awesome. I know that's not true for everyone and I'm not trying to extrapolate any broad statement out of it, just putting it out there anecdotally that it's not all bad for everyone.
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Same here (latin america), we don't have any fancy map features anyhow. Yes, there are some maps errors / missing stuff but overall it is "ok".
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I'm seriously happy that there is still some way of getting Google maps on iOS 6. I'm just bothered by the fact that, for a second time, Apple has bundled a not-yet-fully-baked service into iOS. I could almost let Siri get a pass because one could still use the phone's other key features (Siri was more of a novelty IMO). But to eliminate something as mission-critical as a competent mapping application that's built into the OS is inexcusable given what one pays for an iPhone. I don't know if it's Apple's supposed "let's ditch Google" attitude or a true desire to be master over all that's in iOS that led them to get rid of Google maps, but it clearly is providing a noticeably worse user experience for many... so much so that they are a very vocal set of users online. I just hope that Apple doesn't make a habit of pushing "beta" features onto their products... moves like that can definitely alienate loyal users and can damage positive perception that mainstream users have of the brand.
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Looks like it may be a longer wait than expected for a Google Maps app.

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WAZE is amazing!
and in many "waze" better than Google maps.

Try it!
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