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Tim Cook Publishes Open Letter on Maps for iOS 6

what surprises me is did Apple really need to go 'public' with an apology ?

We're sorry ....hahaha

Better to not admit anything, and just ignore all the fluff flying about...

You've already done your job,, releasing alternatives apps....... at least users would be happy.. in the mean-time that is. :apple:
 
bennyboy34 said:
Half the people who are complaining wouldn't have even used it.
Click to expand...

Neither have half the people defending it.

See how easy it is to throw out meaningless and unverified numbers?
But that's not the point.
That doesn't take away from the fact that Apple replaced a highly functional and mostly accurate map application with a piece of junk- and integrated it into the OS.
Such a piece of junk that the head of the most highly capitalized company on Earth had to come out and post a letter, sincere or otherwise, apologizing for a sub par product.
All you have to do is read the comments posted by many people on this website and many other places documenting an embarrassing array of errors, inconsistencies and poor execution.
And all you have to do is read the comments made by people who write about this stuff for a living to recognize how bad it is.
When even Apple thinks it's bad enough to apologize for, there is a problem.
 
You know, it takes balls to write a letter like this, especially for a company with the amount of pride apple has. I think that releasing the new Maps with the word beta tagged on would have been more appropriate, not sure why Apple thought no one would notice, but honestly, people make mistakes and it is what it is. Thank you Tim for acknowledging that you guys screwed up, and that you've committed considerable resources to fixing it rather than leaving it a half assed product.

All this said, it does seem that Microsoft is pumping out more fit and finish these days, but I'm still not okay with the way they approach certain concepts... nor am I okay really owning anything signed off by the baboon monkey man they have running the company. I'm sure Windows Phone 8 is going to be a beautiful product though.
 
Dustman said:
You know, it takes balls to write a letter like this, especially for a company with the amount of pride apple has. I think that releasing the new Maps with the word beta tagged on would have been more appropriate,
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Would of been better, at least users would know its still "under development"

We should be used to that with Siri.
 
Brad L said:
Fact: The new iphone is inferior to the old iphone.
Solution: You forgot to mention that people can choose to use an android phone that now has superior mapping and street view.
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Inferior? Very much arguable. In fact, outside of aesthetics, most would call you flat out wrong, if we're comparing apple products to apple products. (Outside of the current mapping situation.) If you're comparing the IP5 to a high end Android Phone then you have a completely different argument and a whole other can of worms to open.

Also: I think you very much missed my point. People bitch entirely too much about small time items in the Apple world, and that is where my complaint lies. People can of course use another platform and, currently, you're 100% correct that Android supplies a superior mapping solution compared to Apple in its current form.

In no way was I saying people don't have choices. I only mean that most people exhibit zero patience, and hold Apple to some unrealistic standard for a first roll out. Did they eff it up? Sure did, could have been better...but no matter how much better it could have been, people would still point an anonymous complaining finger over some insignificant detail. People just need to either deal with it (have a little faith, supply info where its needed for corrective purposes) or vote with their wallets and switch platforms. Needless bitching and finger pointing accomplishes nothing.
 
Ok

I'm probably helped by being in a top 30 US city, but if I hadn't heard the press, I would have thought it was a fairly nice step. Turn by turn works for me, and I haven't had a mistake yet.

I feel for those who lost all maps, or their functionality was gutted, and I am not trying to minimize their experiences.

But, some of these things get blown up so hugely, that I actually am more upset that tim cook has to make a public apology. Will they accept a google maps app? Will a google maps app have turn by turn now?

Interesting, I guess.

I think the major thing to start realizing is that Android is the new Windows. It's going to grow faster in the long run. I don't think apple will be minimized to 1-2% of users...but android is clearly not done being adopted in heavy numbers.

If apple has anything to slightly regret, is that the Samsung judgement and the iPhone 5 / ios6 products could have really made a dent. But, it's still a product by product battle for a while.
 
Tech198 said:
what surprises me is did Apple really need to go 'public' with an apology ?

We're sorry ....hahaha

Better to not admit anything, and just ignore all the fluff flying about...

You've already done your job,, releasing alternatives apps....... at least users would be happy.. in the mean-time that is. :apple:
Click to expand...

Because this is a doozy, they cannot fix it, at least for couple of years minimum. There is no single company they can acquire. Only three candidates are Google,Microsoft or Yahoo(may be the best candidate).

All other issues are trivial compared to this one.

ScuffGate - Replace/Recycle (Cost $20) (or) Offer Case (Cost $5)
WiFi Problem - Software Bug Fix
Photos with Purple Hue - Software Bug Fix
Lines on keyboard - Software Bug Fix
 
petsounds said:
Hubris, thy name is Scott Forstall.

Image
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This one is more appropriate:

crazyeyes.png
 
Cook offering competing solutions only proves the fix will take some time. It's taken Google(and other vendors) years to get where they are so even if Apple can do it in less time we are looking at at least 18-24 months if lucky.

Keep in my the maps battle is about who controls the data the flows through it. If I were google, I would leverage this misstep by Apple to provide an app with all the same functionality as the previously integrated IOS 5 app PLUS Turn-by-turn. They would be able to do this relatively quickly while maintaining control of the data input by millions of IOS users. Of course Apple will stall on the approval, there will prob be legal action, blah, blah, blah, and eventually we will see a Google maps app(within the next 6-12 months)
 
Diode said:
Maps would get better they would start approving corrections.

I've submitted a few and have yet to see them pop up.
Click to expand...

Just a wild guess. But I guess they're trying to locate the root problem. If there is something wrong with the code or whatever that's causing these. That's a better final solution imo then manually correcting thousands of small errors manually
 
OllyW said:
These figures show it's not going to happen any time soon...

Image
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Everytime I see or hear such, I simply state Apple had similar desktop figures when they focused on desktop products. Apple is focusing on iOS products: they're cheaper than Mac's, cross platform, and they're putting everything they had into them. If they did the same for their desktops, things would be different. It's all how you market it and look at the picture. Apple choses to sell more iDevices because they're cheaper and cater to more people, not because desktops don't sell.
 
This open letter is like confessing to your wife you messed up and hope for forgiveness.
Tim, please. iPhone 5 are still selling like hot cakes in which ever part of the world they are released.
Anyone who owns Apple stock will disapprove of your spineless excuse.
Going as far as recommending 3rd party developers and competitors as alternatives instead of Apple's own is not good for the company image.
I'd rather have Apple stayed silent the topic and come back with a vengeance within a year.
This letter is a sign of weakness, which I deem unnecessary given the sales figures of the new iPhone 5's.
 
Nimrad said:
Just a wild guess. But I guess they're trying to locate the root problem. If there is something wrong with the code or whatever that's causing these. That's a better final solution imo then manually correcting thousands of small errors manually
Click to expand...

There's nothing wrong with the code. There is an awful lot of location information, and an awful lot of satellite images, and some of it is excellent, and some is rubbish. As an example, I can clearly see my car parked in front of my home, that's how good that image is. But my previous home is covered by a single pixel on the map, that's how bad it is.
 
bbplayer5 said:
Lets be real. Maps is "ok" now, but give it about 6 months and its going to be all you use. I personally use it a lot and have never had an issue with it.
Click to expand...

Totally agree. Sydney looks brilliant in 3D and this will just get better.

Yes they're not up to Google maps but the media loves a good anti apple story.

Soon apple maps will be the maps everyone wants.

I also love that apple are so human, they made a mistake which was probably calculated and they apologised .

----------
Ferry888 said:
This open letter is like confessing to your wife you messed up and hope for forgiveness.
Tim, please. iPhone 5 are still selling like hot cakes in which ever part of the world they are released.
Anyone who owns Apple stock will disapprove of your spineless excuse.
Going as far as recommending 3rd party developers and competitors as alternatives instead of Apple's own is not good for the company image.
I'd rather have Apple stayed silent the topic and come back with a vengeance within a year.
This letter is a sign of weakness, which I deem unnecessary given the sales figures of the new iPhone 5's.
Click to expand...
To apologise is not a sign of weakness. It is the strongest thing anyone can do. The world is so screwed up because most people defend undefinsible positions to protect their precious egos.
 
To Tim Crook and Scott for stall,

Why fix things that ain't broke? That's the issue, here? Scott, you need to get ya ass to work and start worshipping google to resurrect your reputation back cause iOS 6 is half assed. No google map? Just work with them. Tim, you need to stop saying you're sorry, cuz you're a sorry person. FIX IT. OR TEST THE BETA MAP and open your damn ears to hear our voices.
 
iChrist said:
Coming up with a map is harder than making a drug??? Wow, this post is almost as bad as the car analogies that people like to write.

.
Click to expand...

It's not like a paper map. And yeah it's not hard to come up with a drug. Testing it is the problem. Stick to what you know - might not be very much I realize.
 
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Rogifan said:
This one is more appropriate:

Image
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It might have been something to do with his eyes to make this kind of inappropriate decision to lose contract with google. I think he can see all the street names with his cybernetic eyes...(close your damn mouth, Scott)
 
HavocLink said:
SCREW all the haters! Maps has been working fine for me and will continue to
Click to expand...

Who's hating? Obviously there are issues with Maps or Mr. Cook wouldn't have wrote this apology. I'm sure it will be fixed. Saying something "sucks" because it sucks doesn't make one a hater. I love Apple and think this iPhone 5 was barely an update compared to other phones.

But don't say everything is great when it's not, then you're just being a fanboy, for either side or brand. I use a Galaxy Nexus and I'll say the phone design is much less attractive than what the iPhone is (even though the design is stale now).
 
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