[crackcookie]

I don't really care for all the negative attention people are starting to put out for the new phones; omg it doesn't have a sexy back....and like.........it doesn't have a trackpad!!

But what I am concerned about, is Tom Tom. Apple users didn't like it, as we all heard about how their CEO wrote them a letter.

What will BB10 have different than Apples Tom Tom maps, and what did Apple do wrong exactly in their maps? Unlike them, Rim can't afford to mess this up!

[anon(3310921)]

iPhone's Maps app was powered by Tom Tom but the actual app was written by Apple if I'm not mistaken . . .all Tom Tom did was provide the info. . .the app if done properly would render the info properly. . .correct me if I'm wrong. . .

[simu31]

I don't think it's the fact that Apple and RIM will be using the same mapping data from TomTom, it was more of a problem (in Apple's case) of how that data was exploited and integrated into Apple Maps.

From what I understand, RIM isn't going down the complicated route (at least not to start with), and their integration of the mapping data will be far more basic than how Apple tried. Simple 2D maps for RIM from what I've read.

Si.

[Bobcat665]

You know that the current implementations of BlackBerry Maps/Traffic use Tom Tom data right now, right? Nothing wrong with how they work AFAIK. I think it was likely a huge programming fail on Apple's side of things...

[The Me]

Trust me, after that and the delays, they shouldn't have any problems as such. They're actually doing good testing, they've had a while to work out those MAJOR bugs and everything should be more than fine. Even Thorsten Heins has been using BB10 for a couple weeks now and didn't even need to restart it.

[MADBRADNYC]

I've always wondered if any correlation and/or integration will be made with users of existing TomTom "in-vehicle" GPS solutions.
I wonder if I will be able to sync my maps, routes, favorites between the two devices?
Will there be locally stored existing maps or will it constantly have to download its data?

I use TomTom's full global premium services with unlimited updated maps, traffic, safety traffic cams, etc with my account.
I would love to have the same account and back up information seamless with both devices via my PC or USB direct link.

[sydsam]

There was a Tom Tom representative in one of developer jams dedicated to maps integration into apps. And obviously the Apple map c*ck-up came up, her answer can be summarized as follows: To be honest we can't even grasp what can be done to our data in order to get the results Apple had with their maps. So by no means there is anything wrong with Tom Toms data.
It would be interesting to see what blackberry does with that data, and what would be implemented from the variety of Tom Toms offering.
But the bottom line is: Don't worry, they will not c*ck it up.

[Roo Zilla]

iPhone's Maps app was powered by Tom Tom but the actual app was written by Apple if I'm not mistaken . . .all Tom Tom did was provide the info. . .the app if done properly would render the info properly. . .correct me if I'm wrong. . .

The issue is not with Tom Tom's data, or the Maps app, although TT's data is not as comprehensive as Google's. The issue is how Apple's servers are feeding that data to the app. Basically, the servers sending the data to the app are not translating the data correctly. Most reports seem to confirm that it is improving dramatically in the more densely populated areas. Not so much in the sparsely populated places. Crowd sourcing does have it's limits.

[Roo Zilla]

What will BB10 have different than Apples Tom Tom maps, and what did Apple do wrong exactly in their maps? Unlike them, Rim can't afford to mess this up!

Map data comes from multiple sources. The problem is, the sources don't all use the same format. Apple, like everyone else, has programs that translate this data into visual format, the map you see. There were probably errors in the programs that translate the data leading to some bizarre visuals, like a flat Statue of Liberty when using Flyover. It seems most of the more egregious mistakes in Flyover visuals have been fixed. There were also reports of cities being misplaced, or not on the map at all. Again, most likely errors in how the data was translated by the servers and sent to the iOS devices. Many of these have fixed. The final issue was misplaced POI and old POI data. This is probably due to a combination of error in translation and old POI that have yet to be updated. This is taking some time. In densely populated places with lots of iPhones, it's being updated pretty fast. Hawaii is an example. Other places are not so fortunate. As I said in my previous post, crowd sourcing has its limits. The final issue was the lack of mass transit routing which was available on the previous Maps app. As of now, Apple hasn't addressed that issue.

[belfastdispatcher]

The issue is not with Tom Tom's data, or the Maps app, although TT's data is not as comprehensive as Google's. The issue is how Apple's servers are feeding that data to the app. Basically, the servers sending the data to the app are not translating the data correctly. Most reports seem to confirm that it is improving dramatically in the more densely populated areas. Not so much in the sparsely populated places. Crowd sourcing does have it's limits.

"crowd sourcing" is a nice way of saying Apple is tracking their customers and using their own iPhones and data plans to build a mapping database with or with their knowledge.

[sydsam]

Map data comes from multiple sources. The problem is, the sources don't all use the same format. Apple, like everyone else, has programs that translate this data into visual format, the map you see. There were probably errors in the programs that translate the data leading to some bizarre visuals, like a flat Statue of Liberty when using Flyover. It seems most of the more egregious mistakes in Flyover visuals have been fixed. There were also reports of cities being misplaced, or not on the map at all. Again, most likely errors in how the data was translated by the servers and sent to the iOS devices. Many of these have fixed. The final issue was misplaced POI and old POI data. This is probably due to a combination of error in translation and old POI that have yet to be updated. This is taking some time. In densely populated places with lots of iPhones, it's being updated pretty fast. Hawaii is an example. Other places are not so fortunate. As I said in my previous post, crowd sourcing has its limits. The final issue was the lack of mass transit routing which was available on the previous Maps app. As of now, Apple hasn't addressed that issue.

My guess is that they fed the tom tom data instead of google data to the app and thought the job was done...silly men.

[Roo Zilla]

My guess is that they fed the tom tom data instead of google data to the app and thought the job was done...silly men.

No. First of all, Google's data was sent directly from Google's servers. The new data from multiple sources, one of whom is TT, is sent from Apple's servers. Second, as I stated, data from different sources come in different formats, even if Apple was serving up Google's data themselves, the data would have been OBVIOUSLY incompatible with Google's proprietary format. Third, the App is completely different than the previous Google powered one, meaning it's more than likely it would be incompatible with Google's data..

[sydsam]

No. First of all, Google's data was sent directly from Google's servers. The new data from multiple sources, one of whom is TT, is sent from Apple's servers. Second, as I stated, data from different sources come in different formats, even if Apple was serving up Google's data themselves, the data would have been OBVIOUSLY incompatible with Google's proprietary format. Third, the App is completely different than the previous Google powered one, meaning it's more than likely it would be incompatible with Google's data..

This is even more confusing. Why on earth would they feck up their own data feed....

[sydsam]

"crowd sourcing" is a nice way of saying Apple is tracking their customers and using their own iPhones and data plans to build a mapping database with or with their knowledge.

Customers or iPhone host bodies??? It's a matter of perspective.

[PJD642]

I've got no problems with TomTom...I use one of their dedicated GPS units, updating the maps every quarter, and it works just fine. Very accurate & no errors that I've found. (And yes, I have and use BBTraffic too. I just like a dedicated GPS unit on the dash when traveling, leaving my phone available).

Much as everyone above has said, the problem with Apple's maps has been the implementation, not the source data. I'm confident BB10 will do a much better job with TomTom than the latest iCrud did....

[anon(4018671)]

I wouldn't worry about Tom Tom BB has already made BB Maps and a pretty good app called BB Traffic if you don't use it already. The user interface isn't ideal for me but it works. Not to mention Tom Tom uses their own system and it works well for them.

[skyrocket9]

"crowd sourcing" is a nice way of saying Apple is tracking their customers and using their own iPhones and data plans to build a mapping database with or with their knowledge.

All users have an option to turn off location services on any device.

[jasperlin]

current blackberry traffic is powered by tom tom data and its awesome.

[belfastdispatcher]

All users have an option to turn off location services on any device.

That didn't quite work during the Location gate, it kept tracking regardless.

[pythons]

After having some experience using both Google maps and the New iphone map I can say that the Google map is consistently accurate...
...The map application on the new iphone is NOT accurate.
...Now, I've been in cars that had Tom Tom and it worked just fine so perhaps Apple did screw something up here.

[crackcookie]

Okay, thank you for the answers. It seems that Apple tried to hard to be cute and ended up with something that didn't work properly, I do use BB maps I don't like that, I use BB traffic and I do like that, I think its only problem is that BB7 is underpowered.