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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?
I applaud Apple for once again holding the line on features that are simply not ready for prime time. Better to have nothing at all than something that is not invented by Apple.
Just download and add Google Maps back. Surely people (even Apple users) can figure out how to do that.
This time you'd better live down to the expectations of technology pundits.
They're getting really tired of you succeeding despite their most dire prognostications.
Sincerely,
An obviously brainwashed Apple zealot
Obliteracy: Words with explosions
Only a sap would grapple with apple's map app. It's a trap.
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
I am taking Friday off and plan to disconnect myself from the world for the weekend. Maybe this whole iPhone silliness will have blown over by Monday.
You must not be a fisherman. There definitely is an appropriate amount of exaggeration, and too much exaggeratoin.
Yeah, right. Because I have so many lag issues on my iPhone 4 I must need a faster processor. Right right right.
A better processor only matters when you have problems with the existing one. I've never heard anyone complain about this. It amazes me that Slashdotters still don't understand the concept of Good Enough engineering. But keep draining your big batteries on processors that are over powered for what you do with them. A great feature, to be sure.
Did you hear me? 18% thinner. EIGHTEEN. PERCENT. THINNER. That's like, take your old phone, and slice it so that you only kept 82% of it, and bam there is your new phone! Do you have any idea how hard we had to work to make that possible? Like its some sort of crash diet, poof you lose 27 pounds, and you are now 18% thinner? No! It was hard! We had to make new little metal ringy things, and we had to come up with thinner glass, and we had to smash the battery until it was more like a liItOhNum battery. And you are ungrateful! You are probably not one of our customers anyway.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Ives
Though I'm a bit pissed that Google replaced Yelp ratings with Zagat.
Well then you might want to consider getting an iOS6 device, which uses Yelp for ratings... :-)
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Do you have any idea how hard we had to work to make that possible?
About two seconds in an industrial press?
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!