It was wise of Google to describe this a Beta, because it is that indeed. But, really we are not the true Beta testers, just people using a Beta product, because we have no way to provide feedback, report bugs or provide suggestions. However, participation in a Beta experience is fun while sometimes exasperatingly confusing.
Like these two posters, I have had similar experiences:
Beepboopboo wrote:
truly what was sad was that Google still has yet to update their maps to show a neighborhood that has been in existence for 8 years now.
jerknextdoor wrote
my biggest beef so far is that i'd like an easy way to submit errors. there is a street with no left turns it tells me to turn down all the time and another street that's been closed for a long time (no bridge and no plan to reopen it). i would like to be able to just hit something that can mark that spot so when i'm not driving i can give them a detailed report on the problem.
I have had similar experiences. Attempting to use Navigate to various businesses by name using the voice command, "Navigate to" for example Wendy's and on another occasion, Denny's, provided me with a list of nearby selections with their approximate miles shown. I picked the closest in those two situations and both times the application took me to locations where the restaurant had been torn down and built with something else years previously. (one was on LBJ free way in Dallas at Preston Rd and the other was on Forest lane also close to Preston road).
This is the same problem with the Google Places directory app and the Where app (which seems to use Google Places for it's location information). All of these (Navigator included) seem to be using the same, very outdated database which in many cases (I have seen with Places and Where) provides locations which haven't been in existence for as long as 8 years.
So... yes, it is fun to use a Beta, but it is frustrating not to be able to provide corrective information when I drive to a location for a Wendy's and there is another structure on the spot (in that case they said, the Wendy's hadn't been there for about two years).
What I like about Garmin (although, my Garmin didn't let me search for businesses by name) was that when I found errors (such as a long closed freeway entrance) was that it had a mechanism for reporting the error and on a subsequent visit to that city only a few days later it had their map corrected.
The Droid is a ball... I am having fun with it and will continue to be a fan. But it's a beta product (not just on the Navigator or other Google apps) and there are those pains you experience with something in the throes of development. I am suited for this because I develop products myself... but, I think it is important for any new user to understand that (at least on the Navigator and Places apps) they told us that it was Beta for a reason. It is. And if they merely added a correction feedback mechanism this could get to release level a lot quicker.
