Battle of the Maps - Revisited

I do think Google Maps has superior discovery (or search), thanks to its expertise in that area - and depending on the use case that can be absolutely critical (e.g. looking for a specific business). I also like Google staellite imagery, but I don't think I've ever used to find somewhere.

On the other hand its not really good for navigation and use when romaing is very expensive (which is when I find mapping/navigation most useful). So I was a bit suprised to see the even score here (before it went live). Some of it is personal preference (I find Ovi Maps much better for pedstrian navigation). However it's good to have all viewpoints so listened to Steve and David and here's the piece for all to see 😊

I guess any assessment depends on how you weigh things up and what use cases you have. The categories above are not created equal. I'd argue the ones Ovi wins are generally more critical. Because of this I think Ovi Maps is in a different product league... (map / direction viewer versus mapping location service platform).

I use both applications (and I imagine a lot of powers users do this too). But Ovi Maps is now the default (especially considering most will get it pre-installed) and that's a big deal... There's far less reason for the majority of users to look elsewhere. I'd say power users might, but they are in the minority. I think more will now use Ovi Maps because it's free (and out of the box) - I think that's an important part of yesterday's announcement - it make navigation more accessible to more people.

But if I had to recommend just one solution to someone - Ovi Maps would win - because it has a lot more features and (with the new version) is more consumer friendly that Google Maps overall. That's the change for me.

i use both! google maps is better at search, so when i'm out and about i search what i'm looking for on google maps, read reviews/address and then only switch to nokia maps if i need voice guide navigation. it would be good to have all in one but google is hard to beat when it comes down to search.

although i have to say, the view on nokia maps E71 is not that great when its on navigation mode, it has this huge right sided black column that covers almost half the screen to display some small info but i'm sure you could present this info much discreeter at the bottom and the fact that it goes automatically on 3D navigation is not my preference either since i prefer 2D voice guidance and there is no way to set it either.

but what am i complaining i've hacked the phone anyway to use the maps for free, so for being free its really hard to beat. 😉

I'd give the edge to Nokia because there are more maps for more countries, plus they are downloadable. Props to Google for being first out of the gate with free navigation, but I think the next move is theirs. Nokia has returned a strong volley with the free offering.

If you think Google Maps on Symbian is good, you should try it on Android. Integration into contacts so you can click on an address, see it on a map and navigate there. Priceless.

I find ovi maps navigation & search results are more accurate than google maps. I am from bangalore, recently I was in the other part of the city where I usually reside and I wanted to search nearest Axis Bank, first I tried JustDial phone service, they provide address through sms if we call them and they gave me an address which I think it was far. Then I tried google maps, as usual google throws search results all over the city but the not one nearest to me. Then with a doubt I used Ovi maps, it gave the results starting nearest to me with accurate distance. I was quiet impressed.
Overall its a very good move by Nokia to compete with google maps by offering free navigation.
Latest ovi maps with upgraded UI & a whole lot of features its too good and facebook location update is awesome with ability to click instant photos or attach gallery photos too gooood.
What Nokia should do next is acquire Facebook & Opera to kill orkut and chrome browser.

Hello everyone,
Thanks for taking the time to read and comment on my revisited appraisal these mapping applications.

This was a real tricky one to get right for everybody. I take the point that Ovi Maps is more accurate in some places than others. I used the word "anecdotally"because I could only test for the area I live in. As such, I know that there are some basic services that aren't covered, e.g. there are plenty of my local post offices not shown in Ovi Maps, even with v3.3.

To reply to the point made by Rafe, as to whether the areas should be treated equally or not. I agree that each area would have a different weight for all the different types of user. So I thought the 'safest' route was to treat them equally, and leave it to the reader to apply their own priorities. In which case, maybe it wasn't appropriate to have a scoring system at all - but it is definitely a talking point 😊

The trouble with this test is the functions are given equal weighting. I would say that in most circumstances the satellite imagery is less useful than some of the other categories.

I tried Ovi nav out tonight over a 25 mile journey and forced it into recalculations etc. Good stuff.

I'm in Bhubaneswar,Orissa,India. It's a state capital. Yesterday google maps made me drink water through nose with nonexistent routes. At present,in my city,ovi maps is much more accurate. I am extremely surprised!

Hi again,
Just thought I'd add my anecdote on how Google satellite images can be helpful.

I live in an inner-city area in the UK, and I don't drive. A while ago, I was planning a trip to a retail estate just out side of the city, and I couldn't get accurate information about where exactly the bus-stops were. By using Google satellite photos, I actually followed the surrounding roads and found the road-markings for the bus stop.

Just to re-iterate my last post, I know giving each of the assessments an equal weighting would ultimately please nobody. Although, I know that I as a pedestrian would find the weightings a driver would want of no use at all, and vice versa.

It's certainly an interesting discussion though!

Just to re-inforce what David said about satellite imagery - a lot of PoIs are not 100% accurate (both in Google Maps and Ovi Maps) and the imagery can be useful in the last 100 yards... Plus if you're doing anything off road (walking, especially) its useful ness is self-evident.

Nokia are planning to improve their satellite imagery, but it will take time and I think Google will retain an advantage here for the forseeable future.

Rafe wrote: satellite imagery, but it will take time and I think Google will retain an advantage here for the forseeable future. * **

* As long as there is a reasonable data connection

** For guided Navigation, applies to North America only.

...so can't side load any maps onto me phone.

Aha, there it goes.

@David, I dont think in Syncing content to cloud Google and OVI are matched.
OVI has edge since it does sync routes also which are good if you pre-plan your trip in night on your pc/mac and then just sync to your OVI maps in mobile.
Also Google "starred" items sync seems to be unstable, and its relation with My Maps in google is not well designed.

For me right now with free navigation OVI maps beats Google by huge margin.

suyogmh wrote:@David, I dont think in Syncing content to cloud Google and OVI are matched.
OVI has edge since it does sync routes also which are good if you pre-plan your trip in night on your pc/mac and then just sync to your OVI maps in mobile.
Also Google "starred" items sync seems to be unstable, and its relation with My Maps in google is not well designed.

For me right now with free navigation OVI maps beats Google by huge margin.

Thanks for that comment 😊

I haven't noticed any problems with Starred sync. I also haven't been able to test the route sync on Ovi, although you can sync route like displays in Google Maps, but only from the web to the handset, not two way.

davidgilson wrote:Hi again,
Just thought I'd add my anecdote on how Google satellite images can be helpful.

I live in an inner-city area in the UK, and I don't drive. A while ago, I was planning a trip to a retail estate just out side of the city, and I couldn't get accurate information about where exactly the bus-stops were. By using Google satellite photos, I actually followed the surrounding roads and found the road-markings for the bus stop.

Nice idea but unfortunately very unreliable. As Rafe mentioned about POIs not being 100% accurate, but what about aerial images? I look at my house and it shows it pre-extension, a car outside that I sold in 2003 and a back garden that is a historical record before I had it landscaped in 2002.

New roundabouts, junctions and and road markings have been installed, a new road built nearby and new buildings have been built on open space since then. Google aerial images are pretty damn poor in that respect.

Oh, and the image shows the sun shining, that's wrong too...... 😉

I thought I'd just check the aerial image date where I live using the desktop version of Google Earth 5.

Imagery Date: March 4 2000.

So in many cases the aerials are going to be appallingly inaccurate, which seriously degrades their usefullness.

Two things I feel like pointing out here. One is that satellite imagery is usually a year or three out of date. The building I live in was finished last year, but the construction began soon after I moved to London in 2007. The old buildings are still showing for both Ovi and Google maps. I definitely would either discount or down weight the satellite imagery category.

Second is that the search category assumes that the user knows exactly the business they are looking for. In this case Google is better because it uses a more comprehensive directory (ThompsonsLocal) than Ovi maps. However Ovi maps has the 'Explore' function which allows you to browse in categories. So if I want to find the nearest public transport I can do this quickly and easily with Ovi. With Google I at least need to know if it's a train station (and I would also have to search for railway station, because it could be either) or an underground station or bus stop (can you tell I'm in London)? I would *at least* call that a draw, if not a win for Ovi.

That puts the scores at 3/2 to Ovi, if you do include the imagery category and for this who couldn't care less Ovi is the overwhelming winner.

And anyway, the Ovi Maps UI is much nicer than Google Maps (at least the Symbian client).

I recently sold my last Nokia phone, but two questions I have for those who still have theirs are how good Ovi Maps directions are for tasks other than driving, and how well it integrates with other apps? With my Nexus One, I clicked on an address that I had entered into a calendar. It brought up Google Maps Navigation, at which point I was able to pull up either driving or public transportation directions to that address. The public transit directions were pretty accurate, and I was impressed by how well integrated the calendar and map programs were. Granted, I'm in the US, where Google Maps Navigation is strongest.

The satelite imagery on Ovi has been improved since the original article. It is now (almost) as high resolution as Google. The map data seems to be more up to date, shows the car I've had for the last 18 months outside my house, not the one I sold 4 years ago.

I've not updated to 3.3 (N86 compass not supported I believe) but I have just updated the map data.

KPOM wrote:I recently sold my last Nokia phone, but two questions I have for those who still have theirs are how good Ovi Maps directions are for tasks other than driving, and how well it integrates with other apps? With my Nexus One, I clicked on an address that I had entered into a calendar. It brought up Google Maps Navigation, at which point I was able to pull up either driving or public transportation directions to that address. The public transit directions were pretty accurate, and I was impressed by how well integrated the calendar and map programs were. Granted, I'm in the US, where Google Maps Navigation is strongest.

In the US where Google Maps Navigation works at all. I tried to look at Google maps today whilst out horseriding. Yet again no map tile loaded and I got a stupid pile of stripes. Forget it it's so completely lame.

Ovi maps navigation allows selction of destination from maps, history or search. Search brings up a screen full of options including transport. Or just put in free text and it goes and find. It's integrated with the Search function that Nokia introduced a couple of years ago.

Unregistered wrote:In the US where Google Maps Navigation works at all. I tried to look at Google maps today whilst out horseriding. Yet again no map tile loaded and I got a stupid pile of stripes. Forget it it's so completely lame.

Ovi maps navigation allows selction of destination from maps, history or search. Search brings up a screen full of options including transport. Or just put in free text and it goes and find. It's integrated with the Search function that Nokia introduced a couple of years ago.

Thanks. You sound British. Were you using the phone in the US or UK?

Anyway, are you using this from Ovi Maps itself or from another application? Again, I don't have my N97 anymore to be able to check for myself, but does the Search feature integrate with Contacts, Calendar, or other built-in apps? For example, can I click on an address in my contact book, or in a calendar entry, and have it automatically search for GPS directions or transportation options?

Anyway, if you were in the US, did you get good transportation options? When I used early versions of Ovi Maps 3, I noticed that I got decent driving directions, but that POI were more limited. Also, how quickly is it getting a lock, and how well is AGPS working? Again, I noticed that Garmin XT usually locked faster than Ovi Maps, so hopefully this has been improved.

well here i am in barcelona trying to find my way around and much as i love ovi maps preloaded and all the other good stuff they have going on their search is frankly pathetic, making the whole experience quite useless

example: search for "hostel, barcelona" (or "hostal"😉
results: nothing

try to find a movie theatre ... not listed

so frustrating as the rest of their idea is great ... of course google maps just works and lets me sync POI's from the web to my device easily

which i was going to test on ovi just now but got "come back soon we are working on our site"
*sigh*

so google maps wins even tho the maps have to be downloaded because their search actually works and that is really the most important point when wandering around a new city looking for the things to see

i really hope nokia keep improving their search results as i would prefer to use ovi on my N86

anyways... just a live update from field testing so to speak
😊

The A-GPS lock from warm is instanteous. Cold (GPS not used for some time and device relocated) is 4-5 seconds.

Non assisted lock is 4 to 5 seconds warm, and 45-60 seconds cold.

I think locking speed is a consequence of the hardware/GPS software, not the mapping app. I am using a 5800 and it locks using those time regardless of what app I use.

The search is not integrated across apps as you describe Android, it's more that Nokia have put new apps inside Maps which are integrated. So there is a first screen inside maps with a load of icons.

Unlike the Barcelona experience above, I get screenfuls of search results. I'm not in a city either, I'm in a rural location.

Yes, I am in UK, otherwise I'd have inserted the superfluous extra word "back" into 'horseriding'.

Good things is now out as an app on ovi store - http://store.ovi.com/content/21237?clickSource=search

billfish wrote:The satelite imagery on Ovi has been improved since the original article. It is now (almost) as high resolution as Google...

What location have you found this to be the case for?

I've tested for my local area, which is East Yorkshire in the UK, and the difference is still as much as shown in the first illustration in the article.

I guess ovi maps offers couple of good things when you are out of your "comfort zone". At least I have found these to be very useful in Finland.

1. Categories under map settings: You can select what kind of POI the map is showing. For example pharmacies, movie theaters, hotels, shops etc.

2. Michelin guide: Shows nearest restaurants, hotels and tourist attractions with reviews. Of course you have to use Internet to get the information but I suppose many Internet cafes are offering Wi-Fi free of charge..?

3. Events: Shows which movies, concerts, theaters and exhibitions are going close by. It shows the museums, nightlife, festivals, tours etc.

I suppose if you can't find a hotel or movie theater in Barcelona a) it's your own fault b) Barcelona isn't "a major city" and not included to these services! 😊

Unregistered wrote:I suppose if you can't find a hotel or movie theater in Barcelona a) it's your own fault b) Barcelona isn't "a major city" and not included to these services! 😊

I tried "Events" and use "Barcelona" as my location. It shows f. ex. that soon in "Comedia Cines" will be showing "Un tipo serio".

Get Funkd, Conciertos de Musica and Claret Piano Trio are just some concerts near downtown.

If you are interested about museums and exhibitions, these are going: Sintoismo / Taoism El Lejano Oriente, Erotic Art & Culture 😊, Ancient Chapterhouse at the Barcelona Cathedral Museum.

Michelin shows that there are 3 restaurants and 3 hotels closer than 165 metres. Some major tourist attractions close by are: Rambla de Canaletes, Rambla del Centre and Students' Rambla.

So there you are! I mean how easy is it to find something to do! Can't be easier! I eagerly wait that I'm in holiday somewhere and get a chance to use ovi maps!

I have to be specific that "Barcelona" ment exactly Placa de Catalunya in Barcelona. And when I zoom in to see POI, it whows that at least 10-15 restaurants are located very very close by.

So, I really can't understand you that you can't find anything with your mobile and ovi maps.