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Google really dropped the ball by not having a standalone Maps iOS App ready to go. I still find it hard to believe they were truly blindsided by the change with Apple's public record of acquiring mapping assets over the past few years.

Yup totally googles fault /s Even though you are beging them for an app. Yup totally Googles fault.
 
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.

Funny you should say that. I own a DJ entertainment company and when I completely book out for a day, I will always have some person ask me, "Can you recommend someone else to me."

My response? "No, I can't"

You are never that big, I don't care who you are. Why would I send someone over to another company that may do a decent job, which will inevitable get them more bookings, the ones that should have been mine? I'd rather have someone find someone on their own and roll the dice. If they are bad, they will come back to me, if they are good, then good for that person for finding them.
 
This is a shame. The App Store feature is a tacit admission that while the maps team is working "non stop", Apple isn't expecting their Maps app to improve very quickly. If they thought it would be a matter of 2-3 weeks, they'd stall.

Kudos for admitting problems, but what was happening at Apple over the past 3 months while the iOS6 beta testers were sounding the alarm bell? Were they oblivious? Too insulated? There are lessons here. Hope they learn them.

Meanwhile, I still see posts from people who submitted map corrections weeks ago while iOS6 was still in Beta and those corrections haven't been made. Do they need to throw more people at the task of analyzing corrections and implementing them? If so, they'd better hurry up and hire.
 
Somehow Apple is the only company that isn't allowed to make mistakes... every time one happens it's doomsday this, we're all screwed, and the apocalypse is coming. What's more so amusing is how Apple gets more negative media attention than other tech companies, and even when admitting fault and providing solutions, they're still evil and bad.
 
Yes, you can beat that by sticking with the premium application. Remember "if it ain't broke don't fix it?" Well, Apple fixed it.

The premium (in this case Google maps) was broken. Hasn't been updated (on the iOS side) since it came out. It's been the same since day 1. Apple wanted more then what they got from Googles maps application. Google wanted more too. More then Apple was willing to give them for it. So, they made there own. And good for them. No one is saying that Googles maps isn't better (or rather more complete), but we are lacking quite a bit in terms of what they offered on there own platform of Android. So, Apple said, F that we will do it our way and control it better. Which they will and we will get a better application because of it.

its not the first time Apple has gone it there own way. Nor is it the first time they have done something that wasn't "complete" when they sold it. OS X did not have DVD play back ability. They sold it anyway. The first iPhone didn't have MMS with there SMS. They sold it anyway. This was both done under Steve Jobs watch too! MobileMe would be another example.

It will get better! And even though they had another year to wait this out. And maybe they should have called it "beta" just to keep people from freaking out (which they should have!). It will get better. :D
 
I think this section on the App Store is less an apology and more Apple reveling in the fact that Google isn't ready yet. I don't think Apple cares whose maps you use as long as it isn't Google. I personally think any assault against Google is something Steve would have approved of, because I think Android really left him feeling burnt.

As far as the new maps, I've tested it a few times and had no problems, but I live near Disney World, so it's probably the second most mapped place in America behind Manhattan.

Yesterday there were two women hopelessly lost, going over a MapQuest printout at the gas station that they said led them to an empty lot. I looked it up in the new Apple Maps by the name of the hotel and it was 15 miles back in the direction they had come from. Then I warned them that while it sounded correct to me cause I knew there were hotels in that area, I'd heard bad things about Apple's new maps and accuracy. I was heading that way too and the hotel was right where Apple said it would be, 15 miles away from where MapQuest had put it.

The last time I used Google Maps on my last iPhone an overpass was a giant pile of dirt being rebuilt and I missed making it to FedEx on time to send an important letter. I had to pay $500 to send an envelope via "FedEx Same Day" courier service because I got to the location 5 minutes late.

I really don't think this is as big of a disaster as people think and they should really be mad at Google for not having an app. We heard rumors of this coming well over a year ago.
 
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.

There's nothing wrong with the app. This is a data problem. They can fix the data without re-releasing the app. So it's confusing to call the app itself "beta".

And I'm not at all surprised that the data has imperfections immediately after it was launched. So did google's data when they started.

Apple chose an initial partner that decided to become a competitor. Apple, therefore is behind because they did not foresee either their partner turning on them or that maps would turn out to be such a core piece of functionality for their device. If they had had such foresight, then we'd still be having the same arguments, but during the iPhone 1 timeframe instead of now.
 
Why not just make the old version of maps available in the app store? That seems like a pretty obvious solution. Surely the app package is laying around somewhere...
 
This whole thing with maps shows perfectly how loyal apple users are to apple- even when apple is admitting they released a less than perfect product apple fans will still defend it and say its not that bad, ive been using it without problems etc...


its like sticking your finger in your ears and loudly shouting lalalala when someones critzizing maps :p

apple can do no wrong- and if apple admits to doing wrong apple is wrong- but not ok so shut up! ♥ :apple:
 
Kudos for admitting problems, but what was happening at Apple over the past 3 months while the iOS6 beta testers were sounding the alarm bell? Were they oblivious? Too insulated? There are lessons here. Hope they learn them.

That is the interesting question. I suspect that the decision to go with Apple Maps only for IOS6 was made a long time ago, and that shoving Google Maps back in at the last minute (when the alarms were sounding) was not possible. Or maybe they really didn't realize what a mess this would be when released to the general public. I guess us mere mortals will never really know how this went down.
 
Kinda feel he shouldn't have done this.
Hate to say it but Steve would have never punked out like this... Just have his team work harder and never admit they're wrong.

It's kinda like saying, "yes our maps suck."
 
Funny you should say that. I own a DJ entertainment company and when I completely book out for a day, I will always have some person ask me, "Can you recommend someone else to me."

My response? "No, I can't"

You are never that big, I don't care who you are. Why would I send someone over to another company that may do a decent job, which will inevitable get them more bookings, the ones that should have been mine? I'd rather have someone find someone on their own and roll the dice. If they are bad, they will come back to me, if they are good, then good for that person for finding them.

Except that they aren't technically shoveling them over to a new company. They are underhandedly promoting they're own flexibility. You can still use their phone with these other apps. It's a win-win.
 
As long as we're all posting personal anecdotes, I've got one.

I've been happily using the "new" maps app... and then all the negative hype started.

Wednesday evening I was near Noe & 24th in SF with my nephew having dinner. I remembered that my wife and I had ventured to this same neighborhood a while ago to look for a craft store called Noe Knit. I wondered whether it was around there or not. So I pulled up maps and searched, and it wasn't found.

I said, "well, there's Apple's new maps for you." ha ha. Very droll. Search in google instead. First result was the Yelp page - that the place was closed. :eek:

So the one thing I've tried to find in Apple's app that I failed to find was a place that no longer exists.

Can't complain.
 
New positive statement: Over 500,000 people have successfully used the new maps to find the nearest Apple store where they could replace their scuffed and dented iPhone 5.

Not a troll. Just a joke.
 
Apple: We want turn by turn. You've had it for years.

Google: LOLOLOL? NO. HAHAHAHA. DROID DOES.

Apple: Alright, we're going to do our own app and YouTube is no longer a baked app in iOS. We're removing both of them.

Google: HAVE YOU PLAYED WITH GOOGLE GOGGLES!? AMAZING. IT'S REALLER THAN REALITY. Wait what? You're dropping our apps? We still have a year left on our contract? Why's that? Our apps are awesome! They look exactly the same since 2007, so people KNOW how to use them. Maps show so much traffic information, you can't see the rest of the map! People will think they're in Mexico with all the Green and Red. Tim, I love you man. Why you do this? Why you want to remove Google maps?

Apple: I'm Phil Schiller, not Tim Cook. Your apps are overrated and outdated. They were good in 2007. Many people will complain initially that Apple's map isn't perfect, but in the end, our product will be superior to yours. We'll have to issue a ridiculous apology to the internet trolls and annoyed critics, but it's O.K.. In a year, no one will remember this and our users will be better off not dealing with Google's restrictive fist.
 
Maybe you you got out of apple's walled garden for a breath of fresh air, you'd get it. Or does your main computer also just have a stock factory OS install and no customizations?

rather have a walled garden than an open dumpster.

and actually no, my OS is stock, and it's fantastically stable.

but my point is that it seems that you HAVE to alter android to make it decent, it doesnt come decent out of the box, iOS is far from perfect but out of the box it's still beats the out of the box android, and I like knowing my hardware is going to get an update even if missing a few features. with most android handsets its a crapshoot
 
I would absolutely hate to work in Apple's Map team right now - the pressure exerted on them must be intolerable. The failing of this product is no fault of theirs, but rather that a mapping solution of this calibre takes years to develop, rather than months and unfortunately Apple made the hasty decision to pull Google Maps prematurely based on corporate politics.

I've no doubt they will get there and Apple Maps will be fantastic, but it's most certainly not there yet. Fingers cross Google release a native iOS app soon!
 
No its not unwarranted. Maybe where you live it works. But for most small towns and outside America its horrible. According to apple maps I live in the middle of no where.

i'm sure according to some americans, anywhere outside the united states IS the middle of nowhere...
 
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