[App help] New Maps app?

[Travisimo]

Anyone install the new Google Maps app? I side-loaded the 4.1 APK for my AT&T HTC One and it's working fine for the most part. There's a lot of lost functionality from the older Maps app, but the interface is nicer and it is smooth as butter

Unfortunately, I can't get addresses to open up in the new Maps app from the Phone/Contacts application. If I touch an address, it opened up my Glympse app. If I uninstall Glympse and touch an address, nothing happens. There's no other default application and for some reason the new app doesn't open. If I downgrade to the older Maps app, it works fine. This is a deal-breaker for me, and is hopefully just because I installed it from an APK instead of from the Play Store.

Anyone else using the new app with this problem?

 

[marctronixx]

moved to app forum.

why did you side load it? why not just go to the store and install directly? are you rooted?

also sounds like you are having an app association issue. you may need to go to the "glympse" application and relax those permissions so the device can give you the options to open that address.

I have no issues getting the maps app to open addresses. a box pops up giving me options to choose (chrome, maps, etc) and i can then choose maps. maps opens up and from there i can select "navigation".

 

[Petrah]

Are you talking about the new Google Maps beta? If so, where can I get it? I've already received my invite from Google and have been playing with it via Firefox on my PC, but had no idea they had made an app for it this soon.

Edit: Never-mind... I see what they did lol. They just added the major overhaul update to the current Google Maps and updated it yesterday.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57...maps-for-android-moves-in-on-yelp-foursquare/

 

[Travisimo]

moved to app forum.

why did you side load it? why not just go to the store and install directly? are you rooted?

also sounds like you are having an app association issue. you may need to go to the "glympse" application and relax those permissions so the device can give you the options to open that address.

I have no issues getting the maps app to open addresses. a box pops up giving me options to choose (chrome, maps, etc) and i can then choose maps. maps opens up and from there i can select "navigation".

My bad about the wrong forum.

The reason I had to sideload it is because Google is rolling it out over the next few weeks to various devices on the Play Store. It is not currently available to download from the Play Store for my HTC One. So I downloaded the APK and installed it manually, in which case it overwrites the system Google Maps app. This all happened without issue and the app is working fine, other than the association issue with my Phone application.

It's not an issue with Glympse, as I completely uninstalled it and then absolutely nothing happens if I click on an address from one of my contacts (whereas with the old Maps app, it opens the app and shows the destination).

Are you using the new Maps app that just came out today?

 

[funkylogik]

Just installed it from play store. I expected it to have the thing where you zoom out into space

 

[Travisimo]

Are you talking about the new Google Maps beta? If so, where can I get it? I've already received my invite from Google and have been playing with it via Firefox on my PC, but had no idea they had made an app for it this soon.

No, I'm not talking about the Maps Beta on desktop. I'm talking about the new Android Google Maps app that Google announced today and is rolling out over the next several weeks:

Google Maps for Android: new design, improved navigation, and custom tablet interface | The Verge

I got the APK from Androidpolice, who has links to the new Maps app for Android 4.1 and 4.2:

[Update: v7.0.0 APK] Google Maps For Android Gets Updated With Promised Interface Refresh, Functionality Enhancements

 

[Petrah]

No, I'm not talking about the Maps Beta on desktop.

I know.. which is why I said in my original post that I had no idea it was already in app format. I had thought it was still in beta and that they were going to release a new beta app, but all they did was upgrade the old maps with the new changes and offer it in the Play Store.

I normally do not keep Maps and its extras on my phone. I download it when I need it, and then uninstall it or freeze it with TiBU. That's why I didn't know there was an update.

 

[divinebovine]

Just installed it from play store. I expected it to have the thing where you zoom out into space

Wouldn't that be Google Earth, not Google Maps?

 

[gtbarry]

I predict that once the Waze integration (integration, not acquisition) is complete: Maps, Navigation, Earth and Waze will all be one product down the road. Think about it. Maps keeps adding functions of Earth and Navigation. Navigation keeps adding functions from Maps. Etc.

Why have four product groups with so much overlap?

 

[Petrah]

What's Waze?

Yes, I could Google it but I much prefer, and enjoy, your posts.

 

[gtbarry]

waze = navigation + gaming

(it's social navigation that gives you updates from other users. You can be a user and give traffic updates, road closures, speed traps, noting gas prices, maps corrections, etc. - which will give you points to advance your ranking. I assume at the end there's a boss to kill or princess to save)

google bought them about a month ago now for US$1.25 billion

 

[funkylogik]

Wouldn't that be Google Earth, not Google Maps?

Nah mate at the IO keynotes the new Maps for desktop could zoom out and show cloud formations in "real time"
Im same as Lilbit. I dont like keeping maps installed. I dont use it enough to need it tbh. I just installed it to check out its cool-factor

 

[sdrawkcab25]

Anyone install the new Google Maps app? I side-loaded the 4.1 APK for my AT&T HTC One and it's working fine for the most part. There's a lot of lost functionality from the older Maps app, but the interface is nicer and it is smooth as butter

Unfortunately, I can't get addresses to open up in the new Maps app from the Phone/Contacts application. If I touch an address, it opened up my Glympse app. If I uninstall Glympse and touch an address, nothing happens. There's no other default application and for some reason the new app doesn't open. If I downgrade to the older Maps app, it works fine. This is a deal-breaker for me, and is hopefully just because I installed it from an APK instead of from the Play Store.

Anyone else using the new app with this problem?

Might be stating the obvious... But have you tried rebooting since installing it?

 

[Travisimo]

Might be stating the obvious... But have you tried rebooting since installing it?

Yes, thanks for the suggestion, but that did not fix the problem. I'm thinking that either the APK I have is just not configured properly for my device, or there is a legitimate bug in the new Maps app that breaks contact links (at least on my HTC One). As a workaround, I can type the contact name is the Map search bar and it will show up there...

 

[gingersnapgirl]

Anyone install the new Google Maps app? I side-loaded the 4.1 APK for my AT&T HTC One and it's working fine for the most part. There's a lot of lost functionality from the older Maps app, but the interface is nicer and it is smooth as butter

Unfortunately, I can't get addresses to open up in the new Maps app from the Phone/Contacts application. If I touch an address, it opened up my Glympse app. If I uninstall Glympse and touch an address, nothing happens. There's no other default application and for some reason the new app doesn't open. If I downgrade to the older Maps app, it works fine. This is a deal-breaker for me, and is hopefully just because I installed it from an APK instead of from the Play Store.

Anyone else using the new app with this problem?

what functionality has been lost?

I use Google maps a lot, and need to know if I should be ignoring this update when it comes out.

 

[Travisimo]

what functionality has been lost?

I use Google maps a lot, and need to know if I should be ignoring this update when it comes out.

Latitude is totally removed. My Maps is totally gone. Terrain view is gone. Can't seem to choose different routes during navigation. Some other subtle changes. Offline maps is handled differently, not sure if it's as functional now or not.

Has anybody gotten the update on the HTC One (AT&T)? I had to side load the app because it's still not showing up in the play store.

 

[Hadron]

Not AT&T, but my One received the update a few hours ago.

However, if I touch a contact's address in the "People" app there seems to be no action associated with it, which sounds like your issue. It's not to do with sideloading, because I used the Play Store.

To confirm, I uninstalled the update and the feature started working again. So my guess is that Google haven't been talking to HTC and this update has broken that link for the HTC contacts app (or maybe even removed that intent from Maps, as they seem to have stripped a lot of stuff).

 

[funkylogik]

I read that offline maps was completely removed ?

 

[Hadron]

It was there, but what I read was that it only allowed a very small area to be downloaded (though there's apparently an Easter Egg style way of getting it to save larger areas).

Don't have it any more to test (though I suppose I could update, test, uninstall again if I get bored )

Edit: I did. It's the worst of both worlds: the menu doesn't provide a way, so you have to use the back door (type "OK Maps" into the search box to save the area you have onscreen at the time). It seems to be more limited in the areas (I tried with most of Paris and it said it was too large), and very slow loading (it says it's trying with a Geneva map, but the progress bar doesn't seem to be moving).

I'm going to send them some feedback then roll back to the previous version...

 

[Travisimo]

Not AT&T, but my One received the update a few hours ago.

However, if I touch a contact's address in the "People" app there seems to be no action associated with it, which sounds like your issue. It's not to do with sideloading, because I used the Play Store.

To confirm, I uninstalled the update and the feature started working again. So my guess is that Google haven't been talking to HTC and this update has broken that link for the HTC contacts app (or maybe even removed that intent from Maps, as they seem to have stripped a lot of stuff).

Thanks for responding... so I guess it's going to be an issue on all HTC One's. Sounds like it's just an API issue where the new maps doesn't hook into the links in the contact app. Now whether it'll get fixed or not is another thing... I reported it in the Google Maps forum and the Google person thanked me for reporting it. But that doesn't mean it'll get fixed.

Is your HTC One running 4.1.2 or 4.2? The AT&T version has not been updated to 4.2 yet, so I'm wondering if that might take care of the issue since the new Maps app has different APK's for each version of Android?

 

[Travisimo]

I read that offline maps was completely removed ?

No, it's not removed entirely. The first version that released only had it as an easter egg by typing "Ok Maps" in the search field. They have since released another update that has it as an option you click on when viewing a map, but I don't think it'll cache as much of an area as it did before.

All in all, I really like the interface. I like the new Explore options, and it runs very smoothly on my HTC One. However, the lost functionality is disappointing. It's like they rushed (like they do with so many things) to get it to look and run like the iPhone version... at a cost, of course.

 

[Hadron]

Thanks for responding... so I guess it's going to be an issue on all HTC One's. Sounds like it's just an API issue where the new maps doesn't hook into the links in the contact app. Now whether it'll get fixed or not is another thing... I reported it in the Google Maps forum and the Google person thanked me for reporting it. But that doesn't mean it'll get fixed.

Is your HTC One running 4.1.2 or 4.2? The AT&T version has not been updated to 4.2 yet, so I'm wondering if that might take care of the issue since the new Maps app has different APK's for each version of Android?

Yeah, I reported it too. We'll see.

I'm also on 4.1.2 ATM. I'll give it another go when the update appears. Meanwhile the old version is faster, so I'll stick with that.

 

[divinebovine]

FYI:

Today I was on the road and needed navigation. I don't remember uninstalling/not installing Google Maps but it wasn't there. I went to Play and searched for maps. The second result was Mapquest's competition for Google Maps. It was less than half the size and offered routing that considers live traffic data in addition to all the usual features so I decided to give it a try. The verdict:

- Mapquest is slow on the Venture. It takes forever to do anything or respond to any input; I don't mean like you might expect it to take a long time to chew on calculating a route, I mean you tap a button and it takes a long time to respond at all, it lags when it needs to change its view, etc.
- The interface can also be totally unresponsive, as if it missed a tap on the Venture's small screen. Try, try again.
- It looks like it uses Google's voice recognition but it can't understand anything I say.
- It has little system integration. I hold my Search button and get a voice command interface and say "Navigate to {wherever}" and it isn't available.
- It doesn't have a list of recent searches/destinations. You have to input everything from scratch.
- Loses navigation/route if you switch to another app (like, for example, a telephone call).

Looks like I'll install an old Google Maps APK that I saved to my SD card. Don't know why I didn't remember it was there when I needed it before.

 

[gingersnapgirl]

Well, I went ahead and installed the new maps apk, and my verdict is that I love it. It's more user friendly, in my opinion, and I haven't missed any of the functionality that was removed.

 

[Travisimo]

Well, I went ahead and installed the new maps apk, and my verdict is that I love it. It's more user friendly, in my opinion, and I haven't missed any of the functionality that was removed.

It was pretty jarring at first, but I'm growing to like it the more I use it. The interface is definitely sleek and smooth, but I do miss a few things. I'm sure they'll add functionality over time, but I wish they would have just waited to update it until they could at least match functionality with the older version. Or perhaps just release it as a beta for those want to test it. As it stands, it's going to hastily replace the older version and features like Latitude are going to be retired shortly. Google+ just doesn't have the same functionality yet.

I understand Google wants to refocus and cut out products to become leaner. However, I don't really like their execution... they don't think twice about adding, removing, or modifying much-loved services and applications. And they do it so flippantly that it seems like a disservice to their loyal customers.