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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.

Amen! I don't think Tim articulated himself very well in that letter. Even if they highlighted maps apps in the app store after he posted the letter he shouldn't have outright promoted competitors. :rolleyes:

I know maps has some issues but it is blown out of proportion as usual. Overall they are really nice and have an awesome foundation! But yes it should have been a rare beta from Apple like Siri. That alone would have made a HUGE difference in the way this is all being received!
 
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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Then there's the fact that Apple's information is quite out of date for the areas I need and seriously lacking in POIs which they should have simply bought from a location service (or heck, just browse the damn yellow pages or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...).

The maps render perfectly. Zero complaints here. For the first edition, it works great..and more importantly, it's going to be a main focus at apple and will only get better and better and better. For those who don't like it, there are a ton of other options.
 
Put in an address located in Long Beach county in Los Angeles. Gave me a selection to choose from where one was Los Angeles and the others were in Colorado. ?!?! Chose the one from Los Angeles. Took me 23 miles to the wrong location. This is Los Angeles folks, not bumble!@$! USA.

As a developer of Apps, I would be FURIOUS. The Apple MAPS SDK auto-changes to use Apple Maps. If I had a business that where finding my business was important.....for ...oh I dunno...so they can buy stuff from my shop....I'd be furious. So basically, every app that used the MAPS SDK provided by Apple, now will need to figure out a different way to program maps in unless they want to send their customers 23 miles into the wrong area. Talk about a true clusterf!@k.
 
Put in an address located in Long Beach county in Los Angeles. Gave me a selection to choose from where one was Los Angeles and the others were in Colorado. ?!?! Chose the one from Los Angeles. Took me 23 miles to the wrong location. This is Los Angeles folks, not bumble!@$! USA.

As a developer of Apps, I would be FURIOUS. The Apple MAPS SDK auto-changes to use Apple Maps. If I had a business that where finding my business was important.....for ...oh I dunno...so they can buy stuff from my shop....I'd be furious. So basically, every app that used the MAPS SDK provided by Apple, now will need to figure out a different way to program maps in unless they want to send their customers 23 miles into the wrong area. Talk about a true clusterf!@k.
Why report a problem like this and not give the address of the error? Maybe a user error? In case you did not see an ad by Motorola where the address was actually not even a real address in an actual ad. Sometimes these problems are not really problems at all.
 
You take fanboyism to a whole new level. Now it's google's fault apple released a sub-par app. Your sense of entitlement is astounding. You want Google maps? Go get a gs3.

Fanboyism to a new level? Really? It's Google's fault if people want a Google Maps app on the iPhone, yes. At some point Apple would have to make a change, as Google is a direct competitor and seems willing to withhold features like turn by turn navigation to better position their own devices. I'd love my iPhone to play Super Mario but I don't expect Apple to make a deal with Nintendo to make that happen.

I am not an Apple fanboy by a longshot. The only Apple products in my house are 2 iPhones. I buy my music from Amazon's Mp3 store. I buy my ebooks on Kindle. I own 4 Windows PCs. Love Windows but have a PS3, not a 360. I shoot with a Canon camera but use Zeiss lenses. My only allegiances are to what I think are good products and I think the iPhone is the best phone on the market... Mostly because it is the most developed for app-wise.

I upgraded to an iPhone 5 because I am a photographer and the screen is nearly 100% color accurate in the sRGB color space.

Haven't had a single issue with the new maps and like how fast the vector graphics load. Clearly people are having problems though and I don't discount them. I've been far more concerned with the dents, dings, nicks, and scratches our iPhones came with. The replacements better not be messed up. THAT is Apple's problem, but providing built- in Google products isn't something I can complain about.
 
Fanboyism to a new level? Really? It's Google's fault if people want a Google Maps app on the iPhone, yes. At some point Apple would have to make a change, as Google is a direct competitor and seems willing to withhold features like turn by turn navigation to better position their own devices. I'd love my iPhone to play Super Mario but I don't expect Apple to make a deal with Nintendo to make that happen.

I am not an Apple fanboy by a longshot. The only Apple products in my house are 2 iPhones. I buy my music from Amazon's Mp3 store. I buy my ebooks on Kindle. I own 4 Windows PCs. Love Windows but have a PS3, not a 360. I shoot with a Canon camera but use Zeiss lenses. My only allegiances are to what I think are good products and I think the iPhone is the best phone on the market... Mostly because it is the most developed for app-wise.

I upgraded to an iPhone 5 because I am a photographer and the screen is nearly 100% color accurate in the sRGB color space.

Haven't had a single issue with the new maps and like how fast the vector graphics load. Clearly people are having problems though and I don't discount them. I've been far more concerned with the dents, dings, nicks, and scratches our iPhones came with. The replacements better not be messed up. THAT is Apple's problem, but providing built- in Google products isn't something I can complain about.

Mate you can bet that the contract apple had with google was not mention of turn by turn and other new options :) because that was not available at the time, so your saying that google should have bend over and give extras for the **** of it ?

If the google app was crap blame it to apple, they never updated it (dont remember if they did) long ago google said something about the new options coming to iOS but i guess apple and google didnt agree in some terms so it never happend.

How is that google fault ?
 
It would be nice if Apple could put Google maps back with an update. This can't be that difficult?

They hate Google. I bet you will never see Google Maps back again, and never see an approved Google Maps app in the App Store.

While Apple is forthcoming, they still don't have the consumers best in mind. It might backfire again.
 
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.

Google dropped the ball by not anticipating that apple would drop the ball?

Apple stuffs up and it's still Google's fault? Hahahaha
 
Ps. I have no problems with Apple Maps and Im happy with Apple getting ride of the crappy google maps that were built into iOS.

because you did not use all of the features it is fine and everyone should be happy? try using a bus feature. oops it does not work at all. I use it all the time locally and when on vacation.
 
Mate you can bet that the contract apple had with google was not mention of turn by turn and other new options :) because that was not available at the time, so your saying that google should have bend over and give extras for the **** of it ?

If the google app was crap blame it to apple, they never updated it (dont remember if they did) long ago google said something about the new options coming to iOS but i guess apple and google didnt agree in some terms so it never happend.

How is that google fault ?

Google had Apple over a barrel, knew it, and future terms would not be pretty.

Now Google can put their own free app in the App Store and collect no licensing fees.

I wouldn't be surprised if Google waits this out for quite a while with no app... They may be hoping the buzz gets worse, Apple reconsiders, and signs a new contract.

While they may have had a year left on the contract, I'm not so sure if it would be a full year, since the iPhone release schedule shifted back a few months.
 
Partially. However, according to this, it was also because Google was withholding certain features from iOS Google Maps.

(By the way - did I paraphrase you correctly? I was trying to get the gist of what you were saying from context.)

No, I meant we weren't bitching at Google because it wasn't their app.

Apple could've had turn-by-turn from Google. They would have needed to add Google branding (a minor inconvenience to them) and Google Latitude (which is now a 3rd party app in the app store).

Obviously, that didn't please them.

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The maps render perfectly. Zero complaints here. For the first edition, it works great..and more importantly, it's going to be a main focus at apple and will only get better and better and better. For those who don't like it, there are a ton of other options.

I didn't say they didn't render perfectly, I said I hated that Apple chose to make them pretty at the cost of making them easy to read at a glance rather than a long study. The white roads all pretty much mix with each other, text for street names requires much more zooming than Google's, there's no distinction aside from a small width change for main roads and side streets compared to contrasting colors for Google (white to yellow to orange).

Sure, Google's look "ugly", but it's functional as heck. Apple's look pretty, at the cost of convenience and functionality.

And I have no other option. Apple does not permit 3rd party maps to plug into Map Kit, thus all my Map Kit apps are now using these broken maps.
 
It would be nice if Apple could put Google maps back with an update. This can't be that difficult?

Probably not very difficult. A few weeks or months to get it all tested with iOS 6.1.

Maybe they'll put someone on it after they finish fixing the problems in Apple Maps.
 
I actually prefer this approach... Why? I was going to keep using Waze anyway. Why not just ditch the idea of Apple made maps and just promote like crazy the existing companies who have been doing it forever.

A win for the companies who make 'em, and Apple, who won't face criticism and still earn 30%!
 
This is not a mistake but a case of fraud,when they adv how great and awesome their maps are etc etc. and then launch it and sell it and i find out they lied and its in beta state,none functional in 90% of the world thats called fraud simple as that.
Give me the same app with all the goods they promised me when i was buying their phone for free and i will forgive their "mistake".
Do you have any idea at how pathetic your post is? LOL

I have a suggestion for everybody who finds that their panties are in an uproar. Return your phone, buy something else and quit with your pissing and moaning.

Understand that for every single person complaining about Maps, there are *thousands* of people using it and enjoying it each and every day.
 
"... aside from Google, who has decent map data? Garmin? TomTom? I've had problems with all of them.

I beg to differ. Nokia has very good map data. Though their implementation of Map Drive on Windows Phone 7, does not give you the same great service it did while on the Symbian platform, Map Drive + on Windows Phone 8 will bring it up to par and will best Apple Maps and in many ways, Google Maps too.
 
I appreciate the option, but I'll be stick with Apple maps. So far, in using, I have no reason to change
 
I've had almost daily occurrences of the map being useless. I guess it's all in where you live.

I, like the person you quoted have had no problems at all with the Maps app. I do not use it all that much, because I have a map in my head.

However, the real question is, are you reporting these issues using the "Report a Problem" button. If you aren't, you're part of the problem not part of the solution.
 
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After Apple left out their iPhone 3GS & 4 users with the added features, Tim Cook wants users contribution to improve their mapping service? Way to go screwing your customers yet you ask them to help you out!? Apple is way too arrogant yet shameful to ask help from their customers. I cant wait for that standalone Google Map with turn by turn on AppStore so I can help improve their service in return.

That Google app with turn by turn will never see the light of the iPhone. Turn by turn is a competitive advantage for Google on their Android platform. They aren't going to just give it away on a competing OS. As for Apple being arrogant and shameful, you must be young. I'm old enough to remember when Google maps located my home about a mile from where it actually is on the map as well as hundreds of other problems. Thankfully they had a "report a problem" button I could use. It's because of me (and millions of other users) that G Maps is so strong today.
 
I never did use maps in the previous iOS due to no turn by turn....it sucked ass as a navigation app. If apple kept it the way it without the t by t in iOS 6, it would still go unused.

I actually love using the map in iOS 6 with the t by t for navigation. It's way better than it was before.

People are making a bigger deal than it is. Use a different app or use web apps if you don't like it. Apple will iron this out.
 
Ah yes, fanboy, it's Google's fault.

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

Google dropped the ball by not anticipating that apple would drop the ball?

Apple stuffs up and it's still Google's fault? Hahahaha

I didn't say it was Googles fault about iOS 6 Maps sucking. Do you guys even read the topic before posting? You can't see that Google dropped the ball by not anticipating Apple was releasing their own maps and to have something ready wether Apple was successful or not? So now Google's other competitors are benefiting while they sit idly by.
 
This is a new low for Apple...

EDIT: Don't get me wrong, I love the new Apple maps, and while I'm sure there are lots of people affected negatively by the bad data their software is perfect and I have yet to come across a problem with it. In fact, I'm going to sell my Garmin GPS Navigation system and use the money to buy myself car accessories for my iPhone 5.

I feel this whole situation is overblown and Apple shouldn't have had to take this unnecessary step. I mean, aside from Google, who has decent map data? Garmin? TomTom? I've had problems with all of them.

A new low?

Apple messed up. There was a massive outcry, and it looks like their management agrees.

My instinct is that Apple might outright buy a company to do it in-house. This episode gives it justification to the board. I mean, the GPS companies aren't doing so well, so it only makes sense.

And, in the meantime, they're advising you on the best maps programs they have. So I don't see the problem with it. Its not overblown. Maps just doesn't work. The local supermarket to me is down as a hospital (there was never a hospital there) and have you seen the way it looks internationally? It needs to change, it will change, and it happens. I commend Tim Cook for making Apple seem like a more humble company. The main thing that Apple gets my criticism for is its arrogance, and they...did a great job here. The only people who would think what Tim Cook did was wrong is the handful of shareholders who are worried about a fallout for this problem and fanboys. To normal shareholders and consumers, openness and humanity are great things.

I answered most of that for someone else on the thread....but the iPhone 5 display is very low res and the only phone pretending to be high end that isn't 720. That pos screen on the iPhone is a crappy resolution and horrible picture quality compared to the competition. Thin size is ********. The 4S is a very thin phone already, give me a large phone with a decent battery life and decent durability. LTE is last year's tech, the fact they finally included it is a second-rate game of catch-up.

It feels so damn flimsy it's like a cheap fisher price toy. The scratches are just another nail in the coffin. Calling the S3 plastic crap just shows you're ignorant and won't even look beyond the apple store.


The LTE chip in the iPhone is a great chip. Apple I believe is the only manufacturer using it now. They seemed to expect it to be ready last year around October-that's probably why the iPhone has the fall cycle now-but Qualcomm couldn't do it for a year. That chip is what allows the iPhone to have any battery life at all. Had Apple included LTE in the last phone, they would've had to build a much bigger phone, period, and that's why a lot of Android phones are so massive (screen size is an argument for papering over the engineering for the radios and battery-I like the bigger screens, but let's be realistic, they HAD to include them to make the phone look not like a bad joke). This chip will allow for smaller Android 4G phones (the chip, by the way, does NOT allow for talking and data on CDMA 3G. Its not the lack of antennas. You need a second chip to allow that-again, this is why Android phones have such big screens).

It does feel light (the iPhone 5) and very cheap, but the materials are incredibly strong and durable at holding the thing together (Aluminium is a GREAT building material)-it is far stronger than an iPhone 4/4S. Yes, it scratches, get a darn case. I would've been happier with a gorilla glass 2 backing (which would be more than sufficient but people have a glass-allergy when it comes to complaining) or stainless steel (which people would've complained about for getting dull) but Apple went the light, fitting Aluminium route and I can't blame them. The S3 is a great device, but nonetheless, I got the 5, I have my reasons, and you calling it a cheap fisher price toy is about the same as someone calling the S3 "Plastic Crap." Apple is using Aluminium in most of their products that I'm aware of. And I have no problem with it, its a great building material. Besides, some grades of plastic are in fact better than metals. But I can't comment on the quality of the plastic in the SIII-I simply don't know. I suspect its pretty good, though. Consumer bias: Plastics feel cheap to many people. Does not matter how strong/good they are. That's the way people think, because some grades of plastic ARE cheap and used in very cheap things.

Would I have loved a 720p screen? Absolutely. My fingers are huge, I could use the extra space. But you know what? I was watching a downsized 720p movie over LTE, and it looked perfectly fine and perfectly watchable. The problem in my opinion is real estate-I feel like I need sandpaper on my fingertips-but things look fine. So your criticism is...rather ignorant on its own.
 
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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.
My thoughts exactly. Or at the very least allow people to download the old version next to the new one.

Unfortunately they don't have turn-by-turn in Australia yet, and with them being kept busy fixing the localisation data layer and search, it seems it might be a while yet.
 
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