Slashdot Mirror
Major Backlash Looms For Apple's New Maps App
Hugh Pickens writes "Michael DeGusta writes that Apple's new Maps app is the very first item on their list of major new features in iOS 6, but for many iPhone and iPad users around the world Apple's new maps are going to be a major disappointment as the Transit function will be lost in 51 countries, the Traffic function will be lost in 24 countries, and the Street View function will be lost in 41 countries. 'In total, 63 countries with a combined population of 4.5 billion people will be without one or more of these features they previously had in iOS,' writes DeGusta. 'Apple is risking upsetting 65% of the world's population, seemingly without much greater purpose than speeding the removal of their rival Google from iOS. Few consumers care about such battles though, nor should they have to.' The biggest losers will be Brazil, India, Taiwan, and Thailand (population: 1.5 billion) which overnight will go from being countries with every maps feature (transit, traffic, and street view) to countries with none of those features, nor any of the new features, flyover and turn-by-turn directions. Apple's maps are clearly behind in some key areas, but they will presumably continue to improve over time. Google has committed to making their maps available everywhere, so it seems likely Google will release their own iOS maps app soon, as they did with YouTube, which has similarly been removed from iOS 6."
But what percentage of people who actually buy iPhones lost these features?
On the plus side, between the new iPhone connector and the loss of features like Google Maps, Android's just looking like a nicer alternative. :-)
Ok, so let me get this straight:
Slashdot readers, and especially the multitudinous Fandroid faction, who, by and large, value supporting a computing platform based on its "philosophy", are now going to argue that Apple sticking with an on-again, off-again "Partner/Competitor", (Google), who can take their ball and go home at any time is actually preferable to them "rolling their own" Mapping solution?
If so, the F/OSS "movement" has just jumped the shark on their entire philosophy.
Considering half the people I know who just ordered the iphone5 didn't even read about it or look at the keynote.. apple could wrap a turd in a box and sell it to them... That sir is marketing.