Great 3D: cool to be sure, but of limited use. Also, I think this is trying to head off Apple's equivalent announcement next week, which I expect to be even more eye-popping, but of the same limited-use.
Street View Stuff: yawn. A marked improvement of the architecture and/or interface would be more appreciated than just mapping more areas. Ski slopes? Whatever. I want automatic incorporation stitching of user images! Automatic occlusion removal where possible! Smoother navigation and transitions!
Offline download: good feature, but what's with the Android exclusive? Shouldn't this be an API feature? Can't you already do this with OpenMaps? Can't you probably do this already yourself?
Are you using data gathered from opt-in Android phones yet to try and better map traffic conditions?
I agree it certainly has the feel of trying to blunt Apple's announcement. The thing that makes it feel that way for me is the lack of use cases. The 'real' news would be offline because if you plot connection capable isotherms for where you can and cannot be connected, big chunks of the world are in 'not' connected. That means all your 'cloud/net' maps are worthless, which is why I still get Microsoft Streets & Trips and have a Garmin dedicated navigator rather than relying on my phone.
Does Maps for iOS still use raster map tiles (like Maps for Android used to)? If so, the amount of space required to cache large map areas at all zoom levels becomes prohibitively large.
Oh, Ok, I get it, by offline they mean raw data and a client-side rendering library. That is a nice improvement, but I would have to assume, this does not include satellite imagery then. Come to think of it, I'd be amazed if Apple's map announcements next week don't include similar capability.
Great 3D: cool to be sure, but of limited use. Also, I think this is trying to head off Apple's equivalent announcement next week, which I expect to be even more eye-popping, but of the same limited-use.
Street View Stuff: yawn. A marked improvement of the architecture and/or interface would be more appreciated than just mapping more areas. Ski slopes? Whatever. I want automatic incorporation stitching of user images! Automatic occlusion removal where possible! Smoother navigation and transitions!
Offline download: good feature, but what's with the Android exclusive? Shouldn't this be an API feature? Can't you already do this with OpenMaps? Can't you probably do this already yourself?
Are you using data gathered from opt-in Android phones yet to try and better map traffic conditions?