Like a lot of people, I was happy and relieved to see Google Maps return to the iPhone.
I'd
been frustrated with the Apple mapping software that had replaced it
three months ago. For one thing, it didn't have public transit
directions, a feature important for New Yorkers like me. Apple's mapping
app also wasn't as good as the old Google app in finding destinations. I
often had to type full addresses rather than just the name of a
business.
I tried to get by instead with maps on Google's mobile
website, but I found that clunky and slower to start up. So when Google
Maps returned this week as its own app, I installed it right away.
Although it may not be perfect, it is a big step up from both Apple's
current software and the old Google-powered Maps app that Apple kicked
off the iPhone in September.
For the first time, Google Maps has
turn-by-turn voice navigation on the iPhone, and with that, automatic
recalculation of routes whenever you make a wrong turn. The feature had
been available on Android phones since 2009, but Google's previous
refusal to bring it to the iPhone is believed to be a key reason Apple
decided to develop its own technology.
The new app also offers
public transit information for more than 500 cities around the world.
That's a feature Apple's own mapping software lacks.
The
turn-by-turn driving directions work exceptionally well. It quickly and
accurately calculated the most direct route from The Associated Press'
headquarters in Manhattan to my home in the Bronx. It offered a variety
of routes for traveling from New York to Boston.
The app's voice
directions came in the form of a pleasant female voice that sounded much
more human than the GPS system my husband had in his car years ago. She
was also more pleasant to hear than Siri, the virtual assistant on my
iPhone 4S.
Directions were easy to understand. But don't worry if
you're the type of person, like my husband, who finds voice directions
annoying. There's a mute option.
Google's app usually gives you
the choice of a couple of routes. Unlike Apple's app, Google Maps lets
you automatically exclude routes that involve highways or tolls. You can
also add an overlay showing how bad the traffic is along the way, along
with satellite and street-level photography of the area you're
traveling through. Those features are much more limited in Apple's app.
To
test out the walking directions, I took to the streets of New York. I
didn't get as many bells and whistles as the driving directions. For
instance, there was no nice lady to tell me which way to go, because the
voice directions only work for driving. In addition, the app doesn't
automatically recalculate your route if you miss a turn. The little blue
dot marking your location just continues on its merry way in the wrong
direction.
To get the voice and the recalculations, you'd have to
walk with driving directions, but you might then find yourself walking
farther as the app won't let you walk against traffic on one-way street
or through a park on recreational paths.
Google's mapping service
is typically adorned with multitudes of landmarks such as tourist spots,
dry cleaners and bars. To test this out, I took a walk up Ninth Avenue
toward Hell's Kitchen. I found that while Google knows this neighborhood
pretty well, it doesn't know it as well as I do.
A pawn shop that
closed and was replaced by a Dunkin' Donuts a month or two ago is still
shown as such on the map (then again, it's not even listed in Apple's
mapping app). A bar that changed its name last summer still is listed
under its former identity, the same as in the Apple software. And only
about half of the many restaurants on the roughly 10 blocks I walked are
listed. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of rhyme or reason as to
what made the map and what didn't. Still, there appears to be more
landmarks in Google Maps than in Apple's app.
For people like me
who live in big cities or travel a lot, the addition of public transit
information is a big plus. For basic directions, Google Maps works very
well. It's able to find my apartment building in a far-flung
neighborhood of the Bronx (though Google still thinks my building is
about half a block north of where it actually is). It gives me a couple
ways to get there on the subway and bus, along with pretty accurate
travel times.
If you have a preference of subway, bus or light
rail, you can filter out the other options. The app shows me the correct
express bus routes from my office to my home, but fails to mention that
it costs $5.50 to ride that bus, rather than the usual $2.25. It also
doesn't mention that regular monthly transit passes don't work on those
buses.
I also asked the app for light rail options as I live about
a five-minute walk from a Metro-North railroad stop. But instead of
sending me across town to Grand Central Terminal to catch a 25-minute
train ride home, the app offers a convoluted set of instructions that
involves taking an Amtrak train to the suburbs and then heading back
into the city on another Metro-North train. While technically faster,
the directions are far from practical (or cheap).
It's also worth
mentioning that unlike what you get with HopStop.com or the public
transit agency's website, you can't ask for a handicapped accessible
route. That means you can't find out if the subway stop you're traveling
to has an elevator (hint: many of them in New York still don't). This
can cause big problems for everyone from moms with strollers to the
wheelchair bound. But the bigger problem is not having the transit
directions at all, as Apple's mapping app is guilty of.
As with
any mobile app, you're at the mercy of your wireless connection. While
out walking in midtown Manhattan, I lost my cellular signal several
times, putting a stop to my little blue dot's progress or sending it way
off the street I was traveling down.
I knew where I was going,
but if you're a tourist in an unfamiliar city, this could be a problem.
That's the case whether you're using Google's or Apple's product.
The
one clear advantage that Apple has is style. Like Apple devices, the
maps are clean and clear and have a fun, pretty element to them,
especially in 3-D. But when it comes down to depth and information,
Google still reigns superior and will no doubt be welcomed back by its
fans.
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