Opinionated comments on mobile phone industry news
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Thursday, July 27, 2006
Is Google Maps adapted to user needs?
As many have said in blogs and elsewhere, mobile searching is mainly about finding information about your surroundings and where to go etc, rather than searching in general for topics.
The immediate thought then is of course to show a map, but I honestly believe a map is not the most relevant information during the initial screening. At least not when choosing what of several options is the most interesting. E.g. which cinema to go to, as that's more based on what the cinemas show and the times than exactly where they are, provided the phone has already sent information to the service about where you're at, and makes use of that as a search criteria. The address could of course be shown in text, and if it's in your neighborhood you know where the cinema is anyway.
So, as we still have fairly slow data links in mobile phones it would therefor be better to start with facts and addresses (in text and icons) to select where you want to go, then as a next step show a map of where the target is.
Google Maps Cool But Mobiles Not Ready | NetworkWorld.com Community
The immediate thought then is of course to show a map, but I honestly believe a map is not the most relevant information during the initial screening. At least not when choosing what of several options is the most interesting. E.g. which cinema to go to, as that's more based on what the cinemas show and the times than exactly where they are, provided the phone has already sent information to the service about where you're at, and makes use of that as a search criteria. The address could of course be shown in text, and if it's in your neighborhood you know where the cinema is anyway.
So, as we still have fairly slow data links in mobile phones it would therefor be better to start with facts and addresses (in text and icons) to select where you want to go, then as a next step show a map of where the target is.
Google Maps Cool But Mobiles Not Ready | NetworkWorld.com Community
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But I think that's why users love GoogleMap mobile (as well as google map too). It's because it's shows the map first, even if this is not the most usefull way to do search, it's the most addictive to do. There are dozens of app to find the nearest something, but very few with such great UI....Do not underestimate the waooow effect
Granted :), but how long will the wow factor last? Not that it matters much, as long as Google can refine the service over time, and they will.
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