Battle of the Map Apps

A lot of buzz surrounding the whole Apple Maps issue. A lot of people say it's hardly noticeable, for others... disastrous.

On this side of the planet, here in the Philippines... this is the situation. I tried being fair, entering the name of a popular city rather than some obscure street. These were my results each with the same search parameters simply entered in Google Maps, bing maps, and iOS Maps. Only Google knew of the city.

What are your funny map app stories unique to where you live?

Down to Earth... The Next Google Earth

Google has recently announced their next update for Google Earth... an extremely detailed 3D render of the whole planet.

This is the next Google Earth...

**On a side note, a while back, Apple bought a Swedish company called C3 that offered a very similar mapping technology. Who will be the dominant map? That will probably depend on the efficiency of the 3D engine and updated accuracy of the maps**

Where Do You Want To Go Today?

Google Maps will help you find the way!

This isn't new to those in the US, but here in the Philippines, GPS Navigation has been restricted to just map and coordinate data.  Google has just recently deployed their Map Directions feature (not yet Google Navigation, but that's coming real soon now that Directions is active) Simply head on over to Google Maps and search for your destination.

Select the appropriate location on map, and click [Direction]

By default, Google Maps will show directions from your current location but you can drag this icon to any starting point and the route recalculates.

The turning points may be dragged to suit your preferred route as well. You may also select an alternate route from a list.

Driving directions will be displayed on the left pane, while the map will show the routes and turning points.

This also works on Android phones!

(BTW, for those geeky enough to know, yes, my title was a Microsoft slogan)