Not to mention mapping GPS receivers. Google maps was probably the most obvious use case for a smart phone after making phone calls and listening to music.
Mapquest was no google maps. Google had you in real time recommending restaurants and giving you directions with voice. You could see a streetview. It felt like a huge leap at the time to me. You may have a different viewpoint.
The first game changer for me was that all the other maps, you had to click up, down, left and right to get anywhere on the map. With Google Maps you could(can) just drag around. All the others were web 1.0 and Google Maps was web 2.0. And it was lightning fast! I remember thinking it was magic, when everything else was so bad to use in comparison.
Out of nowhere? MapQuest and printed out directions were a thing for many years.
Not to mention mapping GPS receivers. Google maps was probably the most obvious use case for a smart phone after making phone calls and listening to music.
Oh man, I remember getting lost with those so many times.
Mapquest was no google maps. Google had you in real time recommending restaurants and giving you directions with voice. You could see a streetview. It felt like a huge leap at the time to me. You may have a different viewpoint.
Google Maps in the era before smartphones really pulled ahead with Street View. That might’ve been their first real game-changing innovation.
The first game changer for me was that all the other maps, you had to click up, down, left and right to get anywhere on the map. With Google Maps you could(can) just drag around. All the others were web 1.0 and Google Maps was web 2.0. And it was lightning fast! I remember thinking it was magic, when everything else was so bad to use in comparison.