[binand]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

So for an example, my house number at Gurgaon shows up like X6W... the next door is TNF...

It seems to me - though they don't say it explicitly, I base this conclusion on their frequent comparison with Aadhar - that eLoc codes are randomly generated. Therefore, each location's code has to be pre-generated. On the other hand, perusing the code in Github, Plus Codes are basically an encoding of lat/long coordinates.

So, each time a new code is generated, eLoc has to avoid collisions. Early on this would be easy in computational terms, but as more and more codes are allocated this will get tougher (eg: early on an Aadhar was issued within a day, now it takes months) because each newly generated code has to be matched against the entire database to avoid duplication, and while this comparison is happening the database is locked out for generation of more codes.

On the other hand Plus Codes have no randomness associated and is a generated using a lossless, repeatable algorithm. I just added a pin randomly in the middle of the Indian Ocean; Google Maps generated a plus code for that location. :-)

Originally Posted by Turbanator

And why is this not being publicised, I mean uber/ ola / Zomoto, these guys should be the first one to ask for a digital address or Google is trying to restrict? Why does Googlle simply not buy mapmyindia?

The eLoc website lists a number of existing customers - Flipkart and Avis are among them. It is a product for which you need to pay (pricing info here: http://www.mapmyindia.com/api/pricing); whereas Plus Codes (a) do not require a central registry, (b) is freely generated, (c) generation and decoding code is freely available and (d) is understood by default by Google Maps we don't know if Uber/Ola/Zomato etc. are already using it or not.

Having said that, neither Bing Maps nor OSM understood Plus Codes. So it seems there is a long way to go for the technology.

[rajeshsundaram]

Looks like MMI copies location names from Google Maps.

Proof: My home location in Erode is called "Nagaratchi Nagar" (नागराची नगर, நகராட்சி நகர்) . But in Google Maps, someone has entered the name with a spelling mistake in "Address" field. The mis-spelled name says "Nagaractchi Nagar" ( an extra C between A and T).

The same mis-spelled name is seen in MMI as well. Looks like MMI is piggybacking on Google Maps API's to get the names!

Anyway, I am fan of Google Maps still.

[Turbanator]

each time a new code is generated, eLoc has to avoid collisions

Each home with an independent digital address is a too ambitious task for anyone with no Government support, especially where we have multiple street names or towns with the same name. I doubt this can succeed. Ideally, Government should have come out with something so that everyone could have contributed. They could have easily started from Municipal or Land records and given a digital number to all the properties on their record unless I am not aware and MMT or Google maps already have such agreements in place.

[arnabchak]

I have a dedicated GPS from MMI.
Will the updates be also available on the device or is it only limited to Android/iOS?
One of the major issues with the device is the lack of real time traffic aka GMaps.

[msdivy]

On the topic of geocoding, instead of using some random characters, a company called what3words is encoding them to a set of 3 English words.
Eg, "advancing.orbit.holiday" is the address of Vidhana Soudha, which is unique in the world. Link: http://w3w.co/advancing.orbit.holiday

For Bangalore High court, which is right opposite of Vidhana Soudha, it is "combines.mills.belief".

[SRM]

I have been using mapmyindia infotainment system for some years now and have always found their maps more reliable than google maps. On quite a few occassions, google ended up taking me to the wrong place. Mapmyindia maps is where i go first and rarely go to google maps.

Yes, they lack real time traffic data but atleast i know i'll reach where i want to

Not tried their app though, but would definitely vouch for their systems with pre-loaded maps.

[gkveda]

Originally Posted by SRM

but atleast i know i'll reach where i want to :

Cannot agree more. Most of the times, when using Google, I end up in some strange place with message saying "You have reached your destination". Then, I use MapmyIndia maps for rescuing me from the strange place to reach my actual destination.

[ashwinprakas]

I've been desperately hunting for an indigenous replacement for Google Map's though it is good about 80% of the time the remaining 20% is where it really messes up.

While riding from Delhi to Behror, Google Maps provided an alternate route due to traffic congestion and the same led us to a armed base of sorts where we were stopped and surrounded by armed gunmen.



They immediately realized that we were not from the area by our Kerala registration motorcycles and fully geared attire, they even told us that this wasn't the first time GPS has led people to the same point and advised us to go back and rejoin the highway.

[karan10]

However problematic Google Maps may be for some users, I feel that the days of monetizing services through consumers is over, thanks to large corporations like Google, Facebook, etc, you get the gist.

That being said, it is too late for MMI for get into a model like since the entire ecosystem is owned by Google and hence they are able to monetize this model.

In a day and age where hundreds of tech companies are born and die on a daily basis, vision alone cannot conquer the world. I remember Mr. Rohan Verma addressing us back in school this one time and he had visions of leading the maps industry, however, seems like he missed out a key factor of collaborating with individuals to get data for maps and monetizing only through corporate clients.

The industry, however, does need a worthy competitor in the map space (here, MMI and the works don't count). If that does not happen, we'll start seeing even further stagnation with the so called most reliable Google Maps.

[motorguy]

I have a MMI Road Pilot 2 device with the maps generally up to date. In the past while I supported MMI against Gmaps, now I am realizing that MMI actually is much less efficient and also sometimes risky as against Gmaps which has really improved over the years.

Case in point. I used MMI when my wife and I had gone together with another family to Velangani from Bangalore. MMI took us on very small village roads while the other car reached almost an hour earlier than us because Gmaps had taken them on a much more efficient route. Some of these roads were also blocked and we had to take tiny roads to get out of the mess.

Also when nearing Vellore, MMI forced me to take another route which was a state highway, while the other car used the 4-lane tolled highway thereby reaching much faster.

After that experience, I took the device off my car (its now in storage) and now exclusively use Gmaps. The above experience was just after updating the MMI maps.

So, in a nutshell - no more MMI and I just stick to Gmaps ! I make sure I download the map from Gmaps a day before starting on the trip so even if at times there is no data connectivity, I can use the offline map feature of Gmaps.

[invidious]

Interesting move. While driving, I have recently moved from Google Maps to Waze on Android Auto. I prefer the Interface. I understand that Waze is also owned by Google but is managed as a separate entity.

[Tanmay K]

This is something Elon Musk said, that in order to compete with incumbents of an industry, you need to not just come up with an equally good product, but something that is FAR better than what is currently out there.

The question MMI should be asking to themselves: what is that they can do that will make users switch and Google to not offer something similar, especially when Google Maps grows better each day as more and more people use it. From my limited understanding, there isn't a lot.

I personally gave MMI a try some time ago. Opened their app, saw their UI, played with it for a bit and the app was deleted within minutes, mainly because of the crappy UI. They're just not there yet.

[Majumdarda]

Trying to revive an old thread :-

I have used google maps extensively and have observed that the details provided are pretty much accurate.
But one thing and which caused my mobile phone to become unusable after the trip, was with the battery.
I now use a MotoX4 and have observed that even though battery backup is decent, but at the time of navigation, Gmaps kills power like anything. I do not want to have the mobile connected to cigarette lighter any longer (as that corrupted my Redmi); please advise what is the solution?

Do I have any device (in budget) where Google Maps can be used?

My car (Kwid) has some sort of navigation system too, but I am not too happy with the interface and neither with the details provided.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

While riding from Delhi to Behror, Google Maps provided an alternate route due to traffic congestion and the same led us to a armed base of sorts where we were stopped and surrounded by armed gunmen.

In 2011, I was routed straight into GNFC Campus at Bharuch in Gujarat as I was navigating to get out of the city and touch the main highway and there was indeed a road passing through this campus albeit a private road with gates on both ends.

I wouldn't blame google then (2011) that it didn't factor in the private factory campus and restricted public movement there and assumed we can as well pass through while we were stopped by the security who said it was a private road.

If things like these happen even today, It is really frustrating.

Despite all these, end of the day, I trust google even today as life would not have been this easy to drive around places. What immensely matters of course is till what extent can one rely on it and when and where to use a bit of logic.

[2000rpm]

Guys, I have a mapmyindia system but the seller had removed the card with maps from the system. (Cheapster)

I would like to start using it to some degree (can purchase a card and put maps on it if possible).

Any one here can guide me through this process?