I don't even use the maps apps. I never understood how they improve over maps.google.com. I guess there's turn by turn navigation but it never reads ahead and so it's really safer to memorize the route than to rely on that.

On Android at least, the Google maps app lets you download large map areas for offline use, including turn by turn directions. I use this for when I head up into the mountains to explore a new area where the cell service is spotty and it's really convenient. It's a nice complement to a topo map and it means you don't have to carry a separate GPS receiver.

It depends on where you are. The quality of the worldwide online maps by Google and Microsoft varies widely between countries.

I live in Montenegro. Over here, Google and Bing maps aren’t exceptionally good. Some third-party ones are much better. Personally, I own Garmin’s Navigon for windows phone. I’ve heard 4geo.me is also good.

There are topographical map apps that are handy, so that you can use your phone as a GPS unit in the outdoors. Obviously you don't want to rely on them entirely for navigation, but it's a nice supplement to the map and compass, and a lot cheaper than buying a dedicated GPS unit.

Other than that, Google maps does everything I want it to do, with the one exception that I can't pin arbitrary locations. I really want to be able to pin locations, the best I can do is send the location to someone else, but I can't just save it on my phone.

> there is no way to avoid crap ending up in them

If they instituted a $20 screening fee, that consisted of a manual review (by an actual person) before going live on the store, that would curb the vast majority of the bad acting apps. I've said similar of some content sites that charge for educational content, that have pirated materials.

It's $19 to get a Store account that lets you submit an app (1). Developing is free, but to submit the app you have to pay. I'd be curious to see how many people with accounts haven't submitted an app - I know I haven't, but mine was free via school.

1. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/uwp/publish/account...

It doesn't matter how many bad apps there are when nobody wants or sees or uses them. There's also a lot of precedence with domain names and the iOS App Store for a pay-to-participate fee not really preventing bad actors from paying to participate.

But it would catch the blatant stuff like in TFA...

The Google Play Store ($5), iOS App Store ($100/yr), probably almost every big online service have experienced substantial term and law violations so it's obviously ineffective as a preventative measure.