I must say that I have always used trusted Google maps for years when I didn't have access to my own computer with GPS software (at work and so on).
Last year, Google has changed from using Navteq maps to something else.
Recently, i have searched an address in google maps in Canada, and found that the location was km from what i was expected and in a curious location.
So i have verified the address in mapquest which gave something really different and looks nearer to what was expected.
Driving there later, following mapquest directions, brought me exactly to the correct location. So the google map was completly irrelevant
I won't trust google maps anymore after this experiment.
Last year, Google has changed from using Navteq maps to something else.
Recently, i have searched an address in google maps in Canada, and found that the location was km from what i was expected and in a curious location.
So i have verified the address in mapquest which gave something really different and looks nearer to what was expected.
Driving there later, following mapquest directions, brought me exactly to the correct location. So the google map was completly irrelevant
I won't trust google maps anymore after this experiment.
The new map data provider is TeleAtlas.
Tao was the first one to notice the change a few months ago (Sept 2008): http://www.laptopgpsworld.com/945-google-maps-navteq-out-tele-atlas
Tao was the first one to notice the change a few months ago (Sept 2008): http://www.laptopgpsworld.com/945-google-maps-navteq-out-tele-atlas
There is another problem with Google Maps that a lot of people aren't aware of. The calibration between the satellite images and the road maps is not always correct. For a great (bad) example take a look at Ketchikan, Alaska. Search for it in Google Maps and then zoom in to a level where the road map network displays in detail and see just how far off it is.
The road map looks like most of Ketchikan is built on the Pacific Ocean. If you plan to go there, you better be able to walk or drive on water! I'll be there in two weeks and we want to do a lot of walking around town so I plan to take my water wings.
...ken...
The road map looks like most of Ketchikan is built on the Pacific Ocean. If you plan to go there, you better be able to walk or drive on water! I'll be there in two weeks and we want to do a lot of walking around town so I plan to take my water wings.
...ken...
I have made another bad experiment with Google maps last weekend. I was not able to get the street address in Streets & Trips 2009, so I have tried searching it in Google maps. And I luckily find the street location.
That was the fun part of it...
I was in a hurry and didn't have time to double check with another online map source
After driving to that Google suggested street address location, I realized I was many km away from the real locations (more than a 10 minutes drive on this same street, a boulevard)
I must say that I prefer not finding a street address than finding a completely wrong one: what a lost of time.
That was the fun part of it...
I was in a hurry and didn't have time to double check with another online map source
After driving to that Google suggested street address location, I realized I was many km away from the real locations (more than a 10 minutes drive on this same street, a boulevard)
I must say that I prefer not finding a street address than finding a completely wrong one: what a lost of time.
You have to be careful with Easts and Wests, and Norths and Souths, too. Sometimes it will find the reverse of what you want. This can be a Big Deal in a place like, say, Las Vegas.
I've also been bamboozled by Google Maps in recent months (maybe twice) but, I don't get upset as Google offers the service for free. However, I'm getting more and more frustrated daily with my poor decision of purchasing Delorme's Street Atlas 2010 product. Routing with Street Atlas is a drag and it's missing ENTIRE TOWNS. Google doesn't seem to Bermuda Triangle municipalities (to my knowledge).
It is just a warning, especially if you are relying on the google routing to find a direction to a rendez-vous and you are driven several km aways from it. You may loose a long time searching for it and miss your rendez-vous!
Not finding a street or a town in a map software maybe annoying but with limited consequences as compared to beeing deeply routed at the wrong place without ever knowing that the real destination is not there at all . Easy to loose 1/2 to an hour in this case!
Not finding a street or a town in a map software maybe annoying but with limited consequences as compared to beeing deeply routed at the wrong place without ever knowing that the real destination is not there at all . Easy to loose 1/2 to an hour in this case!
Google Maps may have appeared to have become worse since this thread started, because last years they switched to their own data (rather than TeleAtlas or Navteq). This appears to be based on Tiger/Line (very old but essentially public domain) and with their own crowd-sourced corrections (ie. somewhere on the Google interface you can go in and move Ketchikan back to where it should be).
Richard
Richard
The only thing I use Google Maps for is the street view feature - if I'm away from this machine and have to look up directions, it's Mapquest for me.
Spades: Try looking at the street numbering system for Phoenix, AZ for a difficult system!
Spades: Try looking at the street numbering system for Phoenix, AZ for a difficult system!
Quote:
Originally Posted by LineChaser
... Try looking at the street numbering system for Phoenix, AZ for a difficult system!
I was speaking of north-south roads on one side of bearing 'Street' and north-south roads on the OTHER side of town bearing 'Avenue' (normally the two are perpendicular).