It is a discussion regarding whether google maps is the best digital map API or not. There are other API's available in the market like mapbox which offer better features in comparison to google maps.

1. Juggernaut
5
things to know before choosing
digital maps API
Google Maps Vs Mapbox.
explained.

2. The on demand economy is no longer a fad. It is here, there,
everywhere! This is not a sudden change, but one that has happened,
and still happening gradually, powered by the collusion of numerous
factors that have all come together to make our life easier – one tap to
get everything under the sun, at your door. Indeed, sounds like a
genie!
While sometime ago this was a sole prerogative of the wealthy, many
concurrent developments are democratizing services and enabling
entrepreneurs to create marketplaces providing these services at an
affordable cost. Some of these developments being mobilization of
technology, ability to leverage excess and idle capacity to supply these
services and venture capital infusion in the on demand and
aggregation marketplace based startups.
Take maps for instance. Throughout human history, map-making had
been a painstakingly detailed, human-intensive process. The advent of
high-resolution satellite imagery, detailed public records, and
increasingly accurate data from GPS and crowdsourced information
has helped businesses offer a wide array of products & services that
weren’t up for offer earlier. Truly, digital maps have changed how we
perceive this world!
Here are the three factors that have enabled the on demand economy
through mapping tech and allowed businesses to offer greater value!
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3. Transparency
The real time updates on map view of both the service provider’s
location and the job status, as well as customer’s location have made
the whole process transparent. Knowing fully well, the status of the job
or the service provider has added to the customer’s delight!
Optimized Routes
Businesses can now calculate the shortest routes for delivery, or the
cost associated with such a job, all at the tap of a button! All of this has
liberated businesses and made instantaneous estimates of such
metrics possible.
Certainty
When customers can see the service/provider live on a mapview
approaching their location, along with an ETA on their pointer, it sure
gives them a reassurance that most businesses failed to offer! After all,
Dominos did manage to reinvent the pizza business with the 30 min
delivery choice.
All factors quoted above have collectively contributed to make the
whole delivery experience delightful for customers getting everything
on demand.
For a detailed coverage of above features, and taking a dive into how
technology makes it possible, I’m gonna ask you to read on till the last
section.
Mapping technology has come a long way to create impeccable use
cases, wherein customization is seeing newer heights and every
industry is finding newer ways to use this advancement to their benefit.
With the evolution of this industry, Google and the likes have come up
with slew of other services that complement the maps in immensely
useful methods. Google Places, for instance, is one such service that
enables customers to know the surrounding places that can serve as
landmarks for identification; no wonder why putting places on the maps
was a wonderful idea.
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4. 4
How do google and map box
compare?
Google has done a wonderful job in cartography. Back in 2004, when
they first acquired Where 2 technologies, mapping industry was still
nascent. In 2009, Google first announced navigation for android, and
entered the league of map quest and the likes. However, recently
Google lowered the number of free API hits that a mobile/web
application can harness, thus impacting businesses. Statistically, the
say, only 0.35% of the total businesses onboard shall get affected.
Pricing
The Google Maps API offers 25,000 map loads/views per day free of
cost, post which a user gets charged variable amount per 1000 map
loads, subject to the API, and depending on the level of customization
in the maps. If you can afford to pay $12000 p.a., you’ll get access to
100,000 map loads a day, with more API hits, each number particular
to the API in question. However, Mapbox offers 50,000 views/month, for
$50, and 3 custom styles.
Customization
Mapbox built its tech on OpenMapStreet data, and customization is its
core strength. Mapbox has a map editor, that goes by the name TileMill
and has a very easy to use interface. For $50 a month, users get
access to their library of predefined maps, as well as ability to upload
three custom styles.
Accuracy
Google has access to huge data streams that no ordinary company
can afford access to. For instance, ETA is a function of numerous
variables like terrain information, average speed data, real time traffic
data, weather etc, which is why, it is more accurate for Google than
Mapbox. Further, OpenStreetMaps does not have a robust database
for developing countries, say Israel or India, such that the information
displayed on 4th or 5th zoom level are insufficient. Usually, its strength
in developed countries is urban locale and rarely the terrain outside it.

5. 5
No wonder, Uber built its own algorithm for calculating ETA, and
improved it by a factor of 3.6 over what Google had to offer!
Associated Services
Google and the likes have built a wide array of services that come with
Google maps API, such as Places, Business, Streetview, Satellite
Imagery etc, all of which enhance the map’s usability, something,
Mapbox and the likes cannot do as of now.
Mapbox focuses on an open platform and customizable maps by
default. It uses OpenStreetMap Data, and integrates back with other
open source software and media, in order to liberate customization. It
offers a map editor, TileMill, which is powered by Mapnik(fonts, colors)
and Carto. On the contrary, Google offers some great APIs such as
Autocomplete, Places etc. along with predictions powered by zillion
bytes of data.
Components of Digital Mapping
Having seen the difference in two leading service providers for digital
maps, it suffices to say that maps have changed the world for good,
and are commonly known to customers through some features as
discussed below. These features are available to businesses and
limited by number of API hits that an application can request for
service from Google servers. For every parameter mentioned below,
google has an available number of free API hits as can be seen here.

6. 5
Expected Time of Arrival
The name says it all! This feature
has empowered businesses to offer
services with an unparalleled
precision in time before the service
or product arrives, something that
sure delights the users.
Real Time Tracking
Real time tracking of both the
customer and the service provider
has enabled transparency in
business processes and created a
sense of certainty for users-
certainty/transparency/security
Turn by turn navigation
The ETAs for today’s businesses
have become unrealistically small.
One reason being that drivers can
get directions to pick up and drop
off locations.

7. 5
Routing/Cost
Routing applications have affected the ETA drastically. With access to
traffic information, road type, and average speed limits, it has become
easier than ever to predict the shortest possible routes for fastest
delivery. Cost can be calculated easily, on a case to case basis for all
businesses offering on demand service or a product, using distance on
maps.
Off site services
Businesses are gradually accepting the capitalists forces behind the on
demand economy and looking to offer offsite services, a lot of which
became possible due to advancement in mapping technology.
Holistically , Geo-positioning is a function of several factors, some more
important than others. To manage contingencies, such as unavailability
of a viable signal, a three level fallback process is implemented for
getting a GPS lock on the device.
In principal, the location of the user is known using reverse geocoding,
wherein users’ current location coordinates(latitude, longitude) are
matched in the database of geospatial information, and users’ current
physical address on the map is returned. However, in the event of
failure to get such information, maps would usually reflect the position of
your nearest tower of the cellular network you’re logged in. In cases
when both fail, user’s last known location is used de facto.
Thus, a combination of above mechanisms are used to determine user’s
location in any mobile app, even when on a slow internet/cellular
network.
Having decided the choices between google maps and Mapbox, and
how to use it, here’s a brief case study analyzing one our clients, an on
demand meal delivery platform, BiteKite, based out of Boston which
faced a similar problem, and how we helped them resolve it.
To learn more about how we implemented digital maps in the
on demand meal delivery platform, download our case study here.

8. 5
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