Navigation App missing after Google Maps Update
- Thread starter Mikest
- Start date
In this age of over-litigation and too many people unwilling or unable to think for themselves, this would be my guess.
You make a good point and I tend to agree that Google is using the "beta" term inappropriately in this case. Still, it is software they provide for free to run on devices that tend to be more convenience than necessity so it's hard for me to sympathize with the "Nav is gone!" crowd.
It's already been 54 minutes, so we've seen the old record broken.
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Don't encourage them!It's already been 54 minutes, so we've seen the old record broken.
I hear what you're saying. Navigation, in general, is a convenience. We did just fine back in the day with paper maps, handwritten directions, and "where the heck are you?" calls from phone booths. And I was never into the "guy thing" by avoiding asking for directions at some gas station. But it sure is one heck of a convenience, a tool, really. I see no problem in doing what I can to make it better. It's in Google's best interest to put out software that people find useful, even if they give it out free. It's in our best interests to have that tool be as useful as possible. I realize that complaining on a forum is most probably futile, but that's not a 100% probability. If nobody complains, then there's no way Google will know if they're spending in the right places. As Wayne Gretzky said, "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take".
**EDIT - Sixty-four, I was perusing some back comments and came across yours,
On that I completely agree. It's one thing to try to send a message to Google. It's another to tack on that "What do I do now?" when it's been answered ad nauseum only a few mouse clicks away.
Last edited:
Unfortunately, these days, you're likely to find someone who knows less about the area than you do.
flacousa
Well-known member
Here is a weird one, both my tablet and my wife's tablet got the 4.3 over the air updates today, right after the installation we both got a map update; my tablet lost the Nav app but my wife's tablet still has the icon and access to navigation, go figure...
Sent from planet earth
Sent from planet earth
I did the same thing and the new navigation app is terrible. They should tell us before they do stupid things like this! Luckily I was able to remove the update and go back but it goes too far back and traffic is removed in most views. The version of this just before the update isn't available and it was almost perfect. What are they thinking??!!! They need to get rid of some of their programmers that are messing with apps for the fun of it and realize that most users just want it to work!
The newest version has approximately 99% of the old functionality, plus 1000% new functionality.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Irony58 will appreciate this story.
While on a recent trip, my wife and I were looking for a restaurant in Reno, NV, a city we're completely unfamiliar with. I remember finding this place the night before on my phone and noticed that there were 2 locations. I swiped through both locations and found that one was permanently closed. I figured, "ok no problem, we'll just navigate to the open one tomorrow."
While on the road, I asked my wife to use her phone to locate the restaurant and get directions. She had updated to the latest version of Maps but had not had a chance to play with it. It's not as simple an operation as it seemed to me, having had played with the new app a few days while lazing around at the house. We ended up at the closed location and she was not able to immediately find a way to route to the other location.
The point of this story - I tend to forget that not everyone enjoys geeking out and fiddling with apps in their spare time like most of the Android enthusiasts here. For these people, and I think most tend to fall in that category, they just want these apps to work as expected. Some of the burden (for lack of a better word) of the transition has to fall on the user who owes it to himself to put in a little effort to figure things out. Most of the burden falls on the development team to provide as seamless a transition as possible for their app's intended audience. I'm not a software developer but I don't think this is an easy task. In my opinion, I think Google has done a good job with this update. The new Maps interface is smoother on my primary device and the look and feel integrates with their whole "Cards" UI design while retaining virtually all functionality of the previous version.
While on a recent trip, my wife and I were looking for a restaurant in Reno, NV, a city we're completely unfamiliar with. I remember finding this place the night before on my phone and noticed that there were 2 locations. I swiped through both locations and found that one was permanently closed. I figured, "ok no problem, we'll just navigate to the open one tomorrow."
While on the road, I asked my wife to use her phone to locate the restaurant and get directions. She had updated to the latest version of Maps but had not had a chance to play with it. It's not as simple an operation as it seemed to me, having had played with the new app a few days while lazing around at the house. We ended up at the closed location and she was not able to immediately find a way to route to the other location.
The point of this story - I tend to forget that not everyone enjoys geeking out and fiddling with apps in their spare time like most of the Android enthusiasts here. For these people, and I think most tend to fall in that category, they just want these apps to work as expected. Some of the burden (for lack of a better word) of the transition has to fall on the user who owes it to himself to put in a little effort to figure things out. Most of the burden falls on the development team to provide as seamless a transition as possible for their app's intended audience. I'm not a software developer but I don't think this is an easy task. In my opinion, I think Google has done a good job with this update. The new Maps interface is smoother on my primary device and the look and feel integrates with their whole "Cards" UI design while retaining virtually all functionality of the previous version.
It's hard to believe we even made it through life growing up without the Internet, Google, Wikipedia, smartphones, GPS units, huh?
All this stuff sure makes me lazy. Instead of planning ahead, I just pop my phone in my pocket and think, "I'll just look-it-up/call-someone/map-it-out along the way".
What thing happened, and what reason are you looking for? I suspect the answer to your question, whatever it is, can be found in the first page or two of this thread.
I just read this entire thread for the first time today. Fortunately I have my phone set to alert me to updates but not to download them automatically. I always read the Play Store's user reviews before I update any app and both Maps & GMail's latest updates have received scathing reviews so I would not even consider updating them. For an app like Maps which is used while driving to make it more difficult to use and require more button presses to obtain the same functionality is ridiculous. It's like some of the posters on this thread have stated, the developers must not drive cars. Even to have to take the time to relearn how to use Maps while not behind the wheel is ridiculous. There are a lot of users of this app that not only aren't Android fanatics, they don't want to be. They just want a functional easy to use & understand app. From what I've seen Google often has updates on any of their numerous apps that users do not like. It can't be an accident or a good thing when the Play Store reviews are mostly negative. I think Google needs to do a lot better job of updating apps, they're far from the only developer that gets negative reviews but they are consistent in getting them.
It actually says not to use it while driving... Because that's dangerous. It thinks you'll plot a course before moving the vehicle.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Sixty_four, I sure can relate to that story. I normally don't mind geeking out and playing with new apps - on occasion, and when I have time. And I've turned off the auto-updates so as not to get blind-sided again. That navigation app is one of those things that, when I need to use it, I need it *NOW* .
.The new gMaps integrated/single app version works but IMHO is not as intuitive and seems to take more clicks to get to the point of actual turn-by-turn navigation. So far the routes I have tested have been easy/obvious, so I haven't been able to determine whether it is any more/less efficient. As others have suggested, try it and share your feedback.
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