New Apple iPhone 5 maps app frustrates users

[David Baxter PhD]

New Apple iPhone 5 maps app frustrates users
CBC News
Sept 20, 2012

Company ditched Google for quirky software in latest smartphone

Missing locations and several other inaccuracies in Apple's new map app for iPhone 5 have caused a barrage of criticism ahead of the updated smartphone's release to the public tomorrow.

The new software often displays shop, restaurant and even train station streets away from their actual location.


Even locations no longer in existence, such as Woolworths, show up on the new Apple map app.

According to some tech reviewers, some of the locations that appear to be missing include:

• William Shakespeare's birthplace Stratford-upon-Avon.
• Paddington Station in London.
• Tokyo Station.

In another glitch, the app shows London, England, as having a Woolworths store, even though the chain has long been shut down. Developers also discovered they were directed to London, Ont., not the British capital, when they plugged in the search word "London."

In June, Apple announced it was creating its own mapping software and would no longer offer users of the iPhone 5 the Google Maps app.

Software operates on other Apple products
Data from navigation specialist TomTom was used for the new app. The Dutch company says it was only the data provider and is not responsible for how it works.

The software, which is already installed on the new iPhone, is grouped with the latest version of Apple's operating system, iOS6.

It operates on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

Although the Google mapping app is gone from the new system, owners of the latest iPhone can still access it through their web browser.

 

[Retired]

If you?re looking for a cheap, third-party Lightning adaptor to go with your new iPhone 5, you might want to hold off. An authenticator chip has been found in Apple?s official adaptors, and third-party adaptors won?t work without it.

Complete Article HERE

This story surfaced in the news today and could turn out to be another Apple PR nightmare, if it is true.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Apple - A letter from Tim Cook on Maps
September 28, 2012

To our customers,

At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers. With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better.

We launched Maps initially with the first version of iOS. As time progressed, we wanted to provide our customers with even better Maps including features such as turn-by-turn directions, voice integration, Flyover and vector-based maps. In order to do this, we had to create a new version of Maps from the ground up.

There are already more than 100 million iOS devices using the new Apple Maps, with more and more joining us every day. In just over a week, iOS users with the new Maps have already searched for nearly half a billion locations. The more our customers use our Maps the better it will get and we greatly appreciate all of the feedback we have received from you.

While we’re improving Maps, you can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app.

Everything we do at Apple is aimed at making our products the best in the world. We know that you expect that from us, and we will keep working non-stop until Maps lives up to the same incredibly high standard.

Tim Cook
Apple’s CEO


Note: Just discovered that neither Bing for iPhone nor MapQuest for iPhone is available in Canada yet - only available from the US Apple Store.