“I’m really looking forward to iOS, and one big reason is Apple’s new Maps app. Until now, the built-in app has tapped into Google’s mapping service for all of its data. But Apple is showing Google the door, and is replacing the current app with a superior solution. AppleInsider has posted two detailed articles that tell you everything you need to know. The first article explains Apple’s shift to its own mapping technology, and how that will impact Google,” Jim Karpen reports for iPhone Life. “The second article explains why Apple’s vector-based mapping is so much better than Google’s bit-mapped apps. If you use the Maps app, or if you use third-party apps that access Google’s map data, you’ll want to read these articles.”
Karpen reports, “Similarly, Google’s maps are bit mapped. Every map is a bit-mapped image, and when you zoom in or out, you simply go from one map drawing to another map drawing of a different size. It’s slow and jerky and inflexible. But Apple’s vector-based maps are generated on the fly. As you zoom in, the transition is smooth. Plus, the data is more efficient. A vector-generated image takes up much less space than a bit-mapped image. This means that if you look at a map while connected, and then lose your connection, there will be enough data there to keep on generating an image for a radius of over 300 miles, according to AppleInsider‘s article. There are many other advantages.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Lynn Weiler” for the heads up.]
