The Maps Team at Apple is looking for a small army of Maps Ground Truth Local Experts to help beef up its data quality for its iOS Maps app. The launch of Apple’s Maps in September of 2012 (which replaced Google Maps as the default mapping and navigation app on iOS […]
apple
GIS Learning
Google Maps for iOS 6 Released and the Onion Parodies Apple Maps
iOS6 iPhone users, rejoice! Back in September Apple dropped Google Maps as the default mapping and navigation app when it released iO6, instead replacing it with an in-house mapping app. After months of speculation and anxious waiting, Google Maps for iPhone and iPod Touch has been released (unfortunately, a larger […]
GIS Data
Show Me the Data
All the uproar over Apple’s Map app debacle shows that at the end of the day, all the whizz bang over flyovers, 3D renderings, and turn-by-turn voice directions can’t make up for bad data. In addition to lacking much of the geographic data and street level imagery that Google Maps […]
GIS Software
Maps with Apple, Google, and Amazon
Today marks the latest release of Apple’s mobile operating system which also means the default map app on the iOS devices changes from Google to an Apple version. Google’s Map app was the preloaded mapping app for iPhones and iPads but Apple made the move earlier this year to dump […]
GIS Learning
Google vs. Apple: Dueling Mobile Map Apps
Ever since the launch of the iPhone, iOS devices came preloaded with Maps, an app built using Google Maps. That five year mapping relationship is about to come to an end. The past few years have been dotted with rumors, conjectures, and industry pontification about various geospatial acquisitions and job […]
GIS Data
OpenStreetMap: Grassroots Mapping
OpenStreetMap was founded with the goal of creating and providing free geographic data to whoever wants it. With an army of 5,000 volunteers who hit the streets around the world with GPS units to capture street segments or who participate in applying attribute information to collected data, the project has […]
GIS Software
Using Location-Based Services to Build a Social Network
Avoiding the Google-Apple-Facebook Trap: How Enterprises Can Provide Their Own Mobile Solutions – a whitepaper by Dr. Alexander Koeppen and Michael Heinzel. Feature rich smartphones with state-of-the-art operating systems have become the dominating access device for the Internet worldwide. This development has opened up a multi billion dollar business – especially […]
GIS Learning
Apple Prepping for Crowd-Sourced Traffic App
A side note that emerged from the iPhone tracking controversy was a statement on the Q&A on Location Data that served as the response by Apple (seen via Pocket-lint). Apple is now collecting anonymous traffic data to build a crowd-sourced traffic database with the goal of providing iPhone users an […]
GIS Learning
Of Interest: Flood Map, iPhone Tracking Update
Esri has released an online Flood Map to track observed flooding locations (point locations symbolized by categorized flooding intensity), precipitation reports, and social media (Twitter, YouTube, Flickr) posts about the situation in the Midwest. Satellite, topography, and street data can be toggled on and off as the base layers. Flood […]
GIS Learning
Geospatial Redux: Apple bans located-based ads in app, OSM in the news
ReadWriteWeb has noted that Apple appears to have banned location-based advertising in their apps, “Apple has posted a shocking, if vague, warning to iPhone app creatorsin its developer forums: submit an app that uses user location data “primarily” for targeting advertisements and that app will be sent right back to […]