Apple Launches New App Store Feature Section for Alternative Maps

oliversl said:

Mapgate? What next? Free TomTom for everyone?
This is getting out of proportion, the new Maps works, location is great. The problem are the satellite images and places info, both will get better.

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I have an issue with the way they chose to render the maps also. I find them hard to read. I want the ugly google maps, big constrating colors and features. It's ugly and easy to read at a glance. Also, put more information on there at lesser zoom levels. Google has it great, tons of info at a glance, with a big general area shown on screen.

Then there's the fact that Apple's information is quite out of date for the areas I need and seriously lacking in POIs which they should have simply bought from a location service (or heck, just browse the damn yellow pages or something...).

iammike1 said:

Why don't people open maps.google.com and add the shortcut to the desktop. The old Google Maps was **** on iOS.

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just like all the noise of iOS ditching youtube when the actual google app was far superior. Some people eh. *sigh*

Oracle1729 said:

iPhone 5 is the cheapest iPhone apple has ever produced at a parts cost of $180. Timmy is cutting corners everywhere and it's showing everywhere. The people who talk about Apple highest quality are dinosaurs living in the past.

The cheap aluminum case and flimsy build of the 5 actually does feel like crap compared to any comparably priced android phone. And every high-end android phone gives you true 720p, not apple's low-res garbage.

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What's flimsy and cheap about the iPhone 5 ? I like mine just fine, seems to match my 4S in terms of "build quality". I also happen to not think of Android phones as cheap either.

Maybe you just have way too high standards for 600$ phones ? Might I suggest Vertu as a brand ?

Oracle1729 said:

iPhone 5 is the cheapest iPhone apple has ever produced at a parts cost of $180. Timmy is cutting corners everywhere and it's showing everywhere. The people who talk about Apple highest quality are dinosaurs living in the past.

The cheap aluminum case and flimsy build of the 5 actually does feel like crap compared to any comparably priced android phone. And every high-end android phone gives you true 720p, not apple's low-res garbage.

Not only is apple no longer highest quality, Timmy is doing everything he can to win the race to the bottom. I wish the fanatics here would actually spend 30 minutes with a competing product and an open mind. This forum should be interesting though in a year when Apple is choking on everyone else's dust.

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My point in case. lol

I have two GS3's (one running CleanROM and the other running ParanoidAndroid) in front of me and an iPhone 5. Sorry but the iPhone is a much better piece of hardware in almost every single way. The software is a whole different debate that I'm not willing to get into right now.

I tend to use Waze anyway, I like it just as much as I did Google Maps. Good for getting around construction and other road problems. I haven't encountered any problems with Apple's Maps app but I'm also in the middle of nowhere. I just don't use it because it lacks some features.

So where are all the well-intentioned but misinformed people who keep chanting "competition is good for the customer" like a druid with a bad cold? They should be welcoming Apple's competition as well as welcoming Apple's making the competitor's products more accessible.

Lots of inconsistency in the collective, I think.

iammike1 said:

Why don't people open maps.google.com and add the shortcut to the desktop. The old Google Maps was **** on iOS.

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as bad as it may have been, the online web site is worse

Bravo Mr Cooke and Apple.
Takes guts and a firm commitment to your customers to do this.
I am impressed!
I cannot understand why all the FB's are getting upset by this very proactive move

TheIguana said:

I just want transit directions back in the maps application!

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This. I knew that Apple Maps would get off to a rough start the second they announced it was not going to have transit capability. It was an early admission they simply couldn't match Google's offerings. Honestly, I already have a app to do turn by turn directions. And there are many to choose from, even if they aren't free. Each app covers the entirety of the US, if not many places in the world. By moving away from transit coverage, Apple has left transit users out in the cold. There is no app I can buy or download that will provide me transit coverage for most cities in the US or world. Even Bing maps have integrated transit capability, although they don't have the coverage that Google does - at least they make an attempt.

Google Transit was an unbelievable game changer when it comes to navigating mass transit. Before a trip to an unfamiliar city I used to have to spend hours comparing regular maps, transit maps and timetables, sometimes from multiple agencies. Bus travel was near impossible due to the complexity if one was unfamiliar with the area - so one was mostly limited to rail infrastructure with it's clearly defined stops that are easy to understand. Now, when I arrive in an unfamiliar city, all I literally need to do is tap my smartphone screen a few times. That's the difference - hours of work reduced to seconds.

I'm making due with maps.google.com at the moment. It's not so much that I'm upset that Apple removed Google Maps, it's that Apple is just leaving transit users behind. They're not trying to foster the creation of independent apps - that's absurd. If that was their goal, they wouldn't release a map app at all. They either viewed transit as too big a challenge or not important. And that's what really disappoints me.

Not sure I want to PAY for an alternative maps app? I would have hoped Apple would have made them available for free......until they sort out Maps..

rorschach said:

I think this is a bad idea.

It's one thing to acknowledge issues and problems, and to be open about what you're doing to fix them. That's a good thing.

It's a whole other thing to say, "Hey, our competitors have a better product. Go check them out and come back to us later." Even if your competitors do have a better product at the moment, you don't actually SAY that.

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But they are NOT competitors. If apple went back to the old program, they STILL wouldn't get the turn by turn directions. It's no bad thing if somebody does it better ON THE IPHONE.

Think of this like a ballot box! Whoever gets the best reviews in the next quarter is probably going to get a visit from Mr. Cook ... With an open checkbook!!!

In my opinion this is an incredibly bad PR mistake by Apple.

Maps was out of the news and Apple dragged it back in. I think Tim Cook feels like he has to be the "good cop" because Steve Jobs has been the "bad cop" in situations like these.

From a PR perspective, I think Apple should have ignored the criticism after the news died down and handled complaints on an individual basis. In the background they should have worked hard to fix it ASAP.

But here's also what's telling from this apology:

- Criticism is widespread hitting normal consumers. People are calling into to Apple complaining. It's not just the news media blowing it up.

- It's going to take a LONG time to fix the current issues, which is why they are suggesting alternatives in the meantime.

Anyway... just my two cents on the issue.

E

jrswizzle said:

Can we finally just let this go and accept the fact that there are other options and that Apple is working to fix it?

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Really happy that Apple Maps work for some people but it doesn't change that fact that these options are only available in a limited number of countries.
Let us know when Apple has started working with competent mapping companies or they've allowed Google Maps back in iOS 6.

jonnysods said:

Does this strike anyone else as slightly embarrassing for Apple?

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Oh, it's terribly embarrassing for Apple. I hope heads will roll because of it. But at least this will light a fire under Apple to get it fixed and pronto. This gaff may end up making Apple's Maps even better than originally planned, especially if they overcompensate by hiring more people than they originally planned.

With that said, I've used Navigon for turn-by-turn for a while now, and I prefer it since all the maps are pre-downloaded. Very helpful for when driving to the middle of nowhere with who-knows-what kind of cell service.

KnightWRX said:

What's flimsy and cheap about the iPhone 5 ? I like mine just fine, seems to match my 4S in terms of "build quality". I also happen to not think of Android phones as cheap either.

Maybe you just have way too high standards for 600$ phones ? Might I suggest Vertu as a brand ?

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The 4S and SGS3(for example), have a nice solid feel The 5 has a feel like a fisher price toy. If I grip it firmly, I can feel it flexing in my hand. Apparently the metal is so thin it dents super easily. I carry my iPhone around in a pocket with no case and it gets banged around a bit but the 4S looks pristine. The SGS3 seems like it will take the abuse just as well. The 5 feels like it will look like crap in a week and the posts around the web seem to confirm that feeling.

The iPhone is not a $600 phone, based on the BOM and other phones in the market, it's a $350-400 phone tops, and only suckers will pay $600 for it, and the majority of those suckers won't want to get fooled again no matter how good the 6 might actually be.

BigZ243 said:

Pretty sad. All Apple needed to do is call it a beta and keep the existing maps on there until an update when it was ready.

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Now that would have been an idea.

I just used maps to go from Philly to my hotel in DC & it did fine. The turn by turn in the locked screen was great.

Shearwater said:

Not sure I want to PAY for an alternative maps app? I would have hoped Apple would have made them available for free......until they sort out Maps..

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Not sure if you actually read the article which specifically notes that there are many FREE maps apps available.

I would have hoped that commenters would have actually read the article they are commenting on... to show a modicum of cerebral activity.

Clearly, my expectations are out of line with the reality of the MacRumors forum.

iammike1 said:

My point in case. lol

I have two GS3's (one running CleanROM and the other running ParanoidAndroid) in front of me and an iPhone 5. Sorry but the iPhone is a much better piece of hardware in almost every single way. The software is a whole different debate that I'm not willing to get into right now.

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I love that every one that touts android phones always has to add "when i completely redid the software"

I really don't understand why Apple are having to admit what a disaster this is without addressing the key underlying point - they need to issue 6.1 that puts Google Maps back as the default mapping option, and they need to announce that that is the plan today.

It really is insane the number of people who are saying here Apple's Maps weren't that bad. They were. They were utterly, utterly broken.

PerPlekz said:

Steve is rolling in his grave

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Yep, because Apple decided to rush an amateur app out of the door.

Apple, just learned the true value of their patents! It is hard to compensate for real value products with round corners, bouncing scrolling, pinch to zoom and other eye candies...

It really looks very embarrassing of Apple.

Btw, I had zero issue with apple maps on ip5.

Not sure what for, but apology accepted!

Otterblue said:

Samsung would never do something like this. Kudos to Apple.

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You're right, Samsung would never screw up this much.

Congrats for addressing it but not good sign if they are suggesting other map apps.