I Hate Maps & Navigation!

[PridgNYC]

Seems to me that most of the complaints are with the accuracy of addresses, POI's, and Street Names. I have found this to be true as well, for example a couple weeks ago, I wanted to go to a JoAnnes Fabrics near me, I first searched on google maps at home and checked street view, but couldn't see any store that looked like JoAnne's fabrics, I checked the location out through the store website, and the address was correct, but google maps showed it in a location that didn't appear to have the store based on street view. To be on the safe side, I entered the address in my Dash, and it showed the address about a mile down the road. I went with the Dash, and it got me to the store. Later that evening (a couple weeks ago) I went online and notified google of the problem (you can do this with the "report a problem" link at the top right of google maps. I just checked it today in google maps, and now the location is correct.

The moral of this story is, if you see a problem, report it. If they don't fix it, then you can whine. I have only found and reported one problem with google maps so far, but it is already fixed. I tried this approach when I had my TomTom, but even a year later after purchasing the map upgrade for $50, the problem was still there.

You're the first person to see Google actually fix something then. Ever since they ended their contract with the providers I and SEVERAL others I know have reported dozens of problems and not a single one has been addressed yet. We live in a rather highly populated area outside of Nashville so I'm sure that we are only a small percentage of the total reports Google is recieving in this area and NOTHING has been changed yet (been almost 6 months since the contracts ended). I know I have personally reported over a dozen improper locations and several 'local routes' and nothing comes from it. A quick trip over to Google own support forums (IF you can call it a 'support' forum) will show that Google is more or less ignoring their users.

Well, I can't tell you what kind of "secret sauce" I added to make them fix it, all I know is I reported it a few weeks ago, and it is fixed now. Perhaps JoAnns Fabrics also complained, as their website store locater uses google maps, and that was also showing the wrong location but correct address.

 

[jsh1120]

I've found a somewhat different problem. The maps used by google maps on the internet and those used by the droid app are not the same. I suspect that the maps are first updated on the web and a copy is passed to the server used for the phone app. I reported a problem with a missing street a few weeks ago on the web and noticed it was fixed. However, it remains incorrect on the version of maps shown on my phone.

 

[KZIWarrior]

Huh now that is interesting. Come to think of it I've seen that before. There is a brewery store near me and their website has Google maps on the info page and online it shows it correctly but the Nav never finds it correctly... Duh... wtf

 

[wil318466]

Well, I have had my Droid for over a month now and I have finally come to a verdict on Google Maps Navigation.

It Sucks.

Why? A number of reasons, none related to the actual phone. I love the phone, it works great for anything I need it for. E-mailing, texting, browsing, it all works. The only thing that seems to cause me grief is Google maps.

The ads advertised the GPS navigation, sure it works, barely. First off, if you know the address, it may work better. I have put addresses in and it would route me to where it thought the location was. The only problem was that the place I was looking for was just a bunch of woods on my left according to the Navigation app.

After about 20 minutes I realized that there was another road with the same name across the highway. I crossed the highway and went down the road and found the location in no time. This hasn't happened just once, this happens about 50% of the time I try to find a place.

POIs, don't even get me started on these. The correct name would be "POS", they are almost always wrong. Heck, some of the time they don't even have the right road for the address. Just two days ago I selected a POI and clicked navigate. It told me I arrived when I pulled up to an intersection with absolutely nothing there. I called up the place I was looking for just to find out that the POI in Google Maps didn't even have the right street.

Markers are almost always in the wrong place, the directions will tell you to turn right even if you are just supposed to go straight and slightly turn to stay on the road. If you try to report either of these problems you can expect for them not to get fixed in a timely fashion. Even if the thing does seem to have an idea where to go, the directions are just about the worst I have ever seen at some points. Whenever I want to turn onto I-95 it wants me to make a U-turn instead of just turning left at the light onto the ramp.

It is an insult to even call this a navigation app. The only thing it seems to work for is getting me home, and that is because I usually have an idea where I am going.

Ever since they got rid of the Navtec maps, google maps has been the most unreliable service Google has ever put out.


Hopefully TomTom or Garmin comes out with something respectable.

By the way, I use google products for almost everything, so this isn't just an "I hate google" rant.

This post caught my attention. I *LOVE* the navigation. It works great. Its only steered me wrong once, and it was one of those split road triple exit spots.

It doesn't avoid tolls, and its not great if you have a particular main road blocked off and have to avoid it, but other than that, it just stone-cold works.

On top of all that, its free. I really can't complain about it at all. Your experiences obviously change your opinion, but I don't usually goto wooded areas. Or place near woods. In fact, I don't even know what woods look like.



-Wil

 

[cuskit]

Well, I have had my Droid for over a month now and I have finally come to a verdict on Google Maps Navigation.

It Sucks.

Why? A number of reasons, none related to the actual phone. I love the phone, it works great for anything I need it for. E-mailing, texting, browsing, it all works. The only thing that seems to cause me grief is Google maps.

The ads advertised the GPS navigation, sure it works, barely. First off, if you know the address, it may work better. I have put addresses in and it would route me to where it thought the location was. The only problem was that the place I was looking for was just a bunch of woods on my left according to the Navigation app.

After about 20 minutes I realized that there was another road with the same name across the highway. I crossed the highway and went down the road and found the location in no time. This hasn't happened just once, this happens about 50% of the time I try to find a place.

POIs, don't even get me started on these. The correct name would be "POS", they are almost always wrong. Heck, some of the time they don't even have the right road for the address. Just two days ago I selected a POI and clicked navigate. It told me I arrived when I pulled up to an intersection with absolutely nothing there. I called up the place I was looking for just to find out that the POI in Google Maps didn't even have the right street.

Markers are almost always in the wrong place, the directions will tell you to turn right even if you are just supposed to go straight and slightly turn to stay on the road. If you try to report either of these problems you can expect for them not to get fixed in a timely fashion. Even if the thing does seem to have an idea where to go, the directions are just about the worst I have ever seen at some points. Whenever I want to turn onto I-95 it wants me to make a U-turn instead of just turning left at the light onto the ramp.

It is an insult to even call this a navigation app. The only thing it seems to work for is getting me home, and that is because I usually have an idea where I am going.

Ever since they got rid of the Navtec maps, google maps has been the most unreliable service Google has ever put out.


Hopefully TomTom or Garmin comes out with something respectable.

By the way, I use google products for almost everything, so this isn't just an "I hate google" rant.

This post caught my attention. I *LOVE* the navigation. It works great. Its only steered me wrong once, and it was one of those split road triple exit spots.

It doesn't avoid tolls, and its not great if you have a particular main road blocked off and have to avoid it, but other than that, it just stone-cold works.

On top of all that, its free. I really can't complain about it at all. Your experiences obviously change your opinion, but I don't usually goto wooded areas. Or place near woods. In fact, I don't even know what woods look like.



-Wil

I love wood! Make my living with it... :icon_ banana: mikey

 

[garyhesq]

I guess I will be one of the few that agree with the OP. I have only used the navigation 5 or 6 times but it never did a good job. One time it sent me off the main drag and into a neighborhood, made a circle through the hood and back out onto the main drag. Friday I wanted to find a Pinera Bread and it took me to the wrong shopping center. It missed it by almost a half mile. I have been a TOMTOM fan for years and will take that over this any time. I know it wasn't perfect but it did a much better job than Google.

 

[cuskit]

I guess I will be one of the few that agree with the OP. I have only used the navigation 5 or 6 times but it never did a good job. One time it sent me off the main drag and into a neighborhood, made a circle through the hood and back out onto the main drag. Friday I wanted to find a Pinera Bread and it took me to the wrong shopping center. It missed it by almost a half mile. I have been a TOMTOM fan for years and will take that over this any time. I know it wasn't perfect but it did a much better job than Google.

Yea - but the Pinera Bread store it took you to had FRESH food, while your searched store had only day old.. Uncanny - but your DROID knows... :icon_ banana: mikey

 

[jbjtkbw00]

I've used my Google Nav daily since Day 1. I like to see upcoming traffic as I drive, so it keeps me aware and I can take alternate routes.

Around here in Central Florida, it's been dead on. When I went to Vegas in January, I had to find the entrance to one of the casinos which was on one of those side streets from the strip. Thank goodness I had the Google Nav or I would have driven past it several times. It's worked flawlessly for me. Gave away my Tom Tom shortly after getting this phone.

The fact that it's in beta is even more impressive. I can only imagine how good the final product will and can be.

 

[JeffK627]

When it works, it works great, but when it doesn't it's a disaster. It tried to direct me into Dallas Fort Worth Airport via an emergency road that was for authorized vehicles only, and no matter what I did it tried to get me to go back to that emergency road. I had to get directions from a gas station and only when I reached the airport entrance did the Google navigation stop telling me to make a U turn and go back to the emergency road.