All your Maps are belong to Bing

[gizmo21]

HP Maps Bing does not offer any traffic in all the countrys Google Maps did and also the search for shops is not that advanced in most countrys.

So here we are having a even more crippled maps app as before and the mobile website version of google maps does not have pinch&zoom and no obviously no support for cross app adress search.

How many more HP fails can the small leftover webos users take?

[roygbiv]

Originally Posted by sledge007

<thread merged>

This is 2 weeks old, sorry

There's a difference between available and mandated. The new Bing map was available 2 weeks ago. That's old. You could find it and download it. No problem.

The fact that HP is now *mandating* Bing, by forcing you to click on a link to an indecipherably formatted webpage is new. They've been rolling out a forced upgrade via this link-to-webpage method. That's new. And that's a problem. You can't read the webpage on your phone. Problem.

I was only able to get past that page by guessing the purpose of what I was looking at, bcs it was literally too small to read on the phone, and zooming on an html page is not possible in the googlemap app. I figured I'd save people the trouble by telling them how to do it.

[schlk21]

Originally Posted by johnsonx42

The google API being used was set to go away on Nov 1st. It did.

I tried to find something on this, but didn't find anything. Link? Source?

[schlk21]

Originally Posted by roygbiv

There's a difference between available and mandated. The new Bing map was available 2 weeks ago. That's old. You could find it and download it. No problem.

The fact that HP is now *mandating* Bing, by forcing you to click on a link to an indecipherably formatted webpage is new. They've been rolling out a forced upgrade via this link-to-webpage method. That's new. And that's a problem. You can't read the webpage on your phone. Problem.

I was only able to get past that page by guessing the purpose of what I was looking at, bcs it was literally too small to read on the phone, and zooming on an html page is not possible in the googlemap app. I figured I'd save people the trouble by telling them how to do it.

Or: You get the message to upgrade the app and then you open the App Catalog and install Bing Maps

[Unclevanya]

Originally Posted by johnsonx42

why is anyone surprised? HP didn't port bing maps and Enyo back to 1.4.5 and 2.1 just to amuse themselves. The google API being used was set to go away on Nov 1st. It did.

Source? BFG Maps is still working great and as far as I understand things it uses google's map api...

Add Google Maps to your website

It seems much more likely that something like this is responsible for this change:
AppleInsider | Google to
charge partners who heavily use its Maps API

HP doesn't want to have to pay Google for the use of maps on a platform that they may or may not continue with - and they are already paying Microsoft a load of license fees for other products and may have negotiated a cheap/free deal from them for map data.

[vasekvi]

Trapster still works as well which is Google Maps powered.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre3 using Forums

[roygbiv]

Originally Posted by schlk21

Or: You get the message to upgrade the app and then you open the App Catalog and install Bing Maps

Which was the alternative that I referred to as "probably easier..." i couldn't say for sure it was in the app catalogue directly downloadable because i didnt' check.

Obviously...moving my thread into this thread hasn't helped...

http://forums.precentral.net/webos-a...le-maps-s.html

I went to use Google Maps tonigt on my Pre Plus (1.4.5.1) and I got a screen that said:

"Please tap here to update to the new Maps app."

I tapped it, and a screen came up that looks like, I'm guessing, a screen from the Touchpad's version of the App Catalog or a website. It's in landscape, has the HP logo in the top left corner, and has three sample pictures. The problem is, I can't zoom in to actually see what it says. Nothing I do will zoom it in. Turning the phone to landscape does nothing.

What is that, and how do I get Google Maps back?

Wouldn't it have been nice if there was a thread out there that said "Click here to download the latest map app..." here's what you need to do..."

[roygbiv]

A quick comment about the availability of the GMap API...if it were set to expire 11/1/2011, you can expect to continue to receive responses from Google's servers for the time being. In a properly managed externally available service lifecycle, the API code won't actually go away until some time after the expiration of the service. All this means (so far) is that HP had planned for this obsolesence. And google probably won't remove the code until it completes regression testing of the absence of the API on its own services.

[Unclevanya]

Originally Posted by roygbiv

A quick comment about the availability of the GMap API...if it were set to expire 11/1/2011, you can expect to continue to receive responses from Google's servers for the time being. In a properly managed externally available service lifecycle, the API code won't actually go away until some time after the expiration of the service. All this means (so far) is that HP had planned for this obsolesence. And google probably won't remove the code until it completes regression testing of the absence of the API on its own services.

Where (source) is this NOV 1st date coming from? See above: http://forums.precentral.net/3233467-post125.html

[roygbiv]

Originally Posted by Unclevanya

Where (source) is this NOV 1st date coming from? See above: http://forums.precentral.net/3233467-post125.html

I have no clue. It could be complete BS. That's why I said "IF" the API was set to expire then...

I'm just saying, for those peolpe wondering why "gee, I can still get to the API through THIS app...why can't I get HP's Map app to work? Say...for example...BFG Map... I'm telling those people: "until they kill the code...you can still get it to work, even if it is expired. One day, though, it won't be there. And they can point to the expiration schedule and say "but we haven't supported that API since XX/XX/20XX, so bugger off."

API expirations don't in-and-of-themselves mean anything in terms of actual availability of a web service. It's an (almost arbitrary) line in the sand that the web service provider has drawn. It's saying "after this date, I don't give a crap about anything coming to my server asking for this request." I would say, though, it is irresponsible of an app developer to continue to use an API after expiration, bcs it leads to the potential of failed services. They're simply not on top of it. It's a move I would expect of an amateur with a small dev team (of say...one).

And the fact that you HP moved to Bing may or may not be tied to such an alleged expiration schedule. If it were, it makes sense that a responsible service provider move off of an API prior to its expiration (a possible explanation). I think it is also possible that other motives were at play (such as: Bing is cheaper to them). Perhaps a combination of reasons. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, so I don't give a darn.

[roygbiv]

Originally Posted by mc_gusto

Gmaps seems to still be working for the Veer somehow
http://forums.precentral.net/hp-veer...highlight=maps

When you have a customer base as large as the base of WebOS users, migrating from one core app to another is a big deal. It's managed.

The way customer migrations work is like this. You slice your customer pool up into manageable blocks. You come up with a migration plan. you come up with performance metrics to measure how many lost sheep you've created. You pull the trigger on one of your customer pools, and you watch the havoc you're creating. Generally speaking, you listen to your help desk that's fielding these calls. In HP's case, I suppose the service providers are taking these tickets. You get that wave down to a respectable number of defects, try to fix as much as you can in your migration strategy, and you move on. My bet is that they haven't gotten to your pool of users yet.

[gizmo21]

the only source i see is that google charges for gmaps with large user groups in jan:
Google to charge for Google Maps access starting in January

well seems HP is not willing to throw money on google

[katefields]

Originally Posted by roygbiv

Obviously...moving my thread into this thread hasn't helped...

Wouldn't it have been nice if there was a thread out there that said "Click here to download the latest map app..." here's what you need to do..."

Well, *I* appreciate your effort.

Yes, it would have been much more helpful to leave your thread alone, rather than making solution-seekers sift through 6+ pages of API talk--which I have zero interest in. I don't even know what an API is; I just wanted to know how to get past the miniscule gibberish.

[johnsonx42]

Originally Posted by schlk21

I tried to find something on this, but didn't find anything. Link? Source?

To be honest, I don't remember precisely where I read the November 1st date for google maps to die. It's no inside knowledge I claim to have though, just something I read here and thought was semi-common knowledge. It was surely in some thread here on Precentral, either a forum thread or an article comment thread, as I generally don't read webos-related stuff anywhere else.

You have to accept the logic though - HP had no reason to spend time porting Bing Maps and Enyo to all the old Palm devices unless they had to.

[gizmo21]

to all international users with special characters in their language or others with the need of SYM key in enyo apps e.g. HP Maps vote here for a patch:

[Patch request]enable SYM key in enyo on webOS <3.x

[gizmo21]

Bing Maps Are Being Rebranded as Nokia, Across All Platforms