File under: Rampant Speculation. Apple Maps is pretty bad compared to Google Maps, and they need to get it fixed in a hurry, by either chaining their engineers to their desks, or buying another company with enough talent to fix Scott Forstall’s biggest snafu.
There was a ridiculous rumor last month that Apple might acquire TomTom to fix Maps, and now the web has sprouted another crazy rumor that Apple might acquire a different mapping company to fix Maps: Waze.
As Apple slowly but surely turns its back on Google, Siri, its intelligent digital assistant, is doing the same. If you’d have asked Siri a question back in June, there’s a 60% chance the data it came back with would have been from Google. Ask it a question today, however, and that chance is reduced to just 30%. Not only has Apple given YouTube and Google Maps the boot, then, it’s shunning Google’s search data, too.
Apple is looking to evolve its own Maps app in iOS 6 by potentially partnering with Foursquare to provide local listings, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal. Talks between Apple and Foursquare are still in the early “preliminary” stages, according to the report, but Apple is definitely interested in what Foursquare has to offer.
Yelp is already integrated into iOS 6 Maps, and Apple partners with other services to offer more than 100 million business listings. A partnership with Foursquare could help enrich Apple’s location data and even help fix inaccuracies in iOS 6 Maps.
Google Maps for iPhone rocketed to the top of the App Store in just 7 hours, and today Google confirmed that the app was downloaded over 10 million times in less than 48 hours. Those are crazy numbers. People clearly wanted the triumphant return of Google Maps to iOS, but how many downloads are a result of Google’s own promoting?
We all know that the new Google Maps app has been a big hit on the iPhone since it launched last week. The highly anticipated app shot to the top of the App Store’s charts in a matter of hours. According to Google Senior VP of Geo and Commerce Jeff Huber, Google Maps for iPhone was downloaded a jaw-dropping 10 million times in the first 48 hours of its release.
Google Maps for iPhone is out, and it’s a solid replacement for Apple’s Maps app in iOS 6. Jailbreakers can make Google Maps the default maps app on their iPhones, but everyone else has to deal with the fact that Apple will never let you fully replace its own Maps with Google’s. It’s a shame, but it’s the walled iOS garden we all live in.
That doesn’t mean you can’t use Siri to get directions with Google Maps, however. You don’t even need to jailbreak. There’s a simple trick that makes it possible.
Google Maps for iPhone was basically a hit before it even launched in the App Store. Anticipation was so high leading up to the release last week that the app shot to the top of the App Store’s charts in only a few hours. Given the widespread criticism of Apple Maps in iOS 6, Google Maps is a breath of fresh air for those that miss the iOS Maps of old.
While Google Maps may be great in its own right, Apple’s restrictions mean that it cannot replace the new, default Maps app in iOS 6. You can choose to use Google Maps for iOS whenever you want, but map links and directions in other apps will always open Apple Maps no matter what.
Luckily, jailbreakers now have a way to make the new Google Maps replace Apple Maps and become the default app of choice. If you’re wondering how to make Google Maps default on iPhone, there are methods to set it as your preferred navigation tool.
Have you been waiting for Google Maps to come back to the App Store before you update to iOS 6? Given the incredibly harsh media attention that Apple Maps has received since iOS 6 went live back in September, you’d think that there would be a significant number of users holding out for Google Maps to make its triumphant return.
Since the release of Google Maps a few days ago, there hasn’t been a noticeable spike in iOS 6’s adoption rate. In fact, it’s had no real impact on users updating to iOS 6 at all. Was the ‘Mapplegate‘ fiasco really that exaggerated?
Using Apple Maps in Australia is freaking dangerous. Like, if you’re just trying to get directions to your girlfriend’s aunt’s house, you might get navigated to a cave full a flesh-eating mutant wallabies. Or it might just navigate you off the road and into the wilderness if you’re not paying attention to where you’re driving, but whatever.
Samsung has decided that Apple’s Map fiasco in Australia should not go unnoticed, so they’ve created a guerrilla marketing campaign to lure people into using a Samsung Galaxy SIII because it has dependable maps.
Apple CEO Tim Cook practically never grants interviews, and rarer still, one where he talks with such candor about the future of Apple, the legacy of Steve Jobs, and why Apple products aren’t currently made here in the USA, but soon will be.
Join us on our newest CultCast as we discuss Mr. Cook’s recent interviews, his frank comments about Apple’s “intense interest” in TV, and why that new Apple-stamped mystery set could be built right here in the U.S. of A.
All that and more on our newest CultCast! Subscribe now on iTunes, or easily stream new and previous episodes via Apple’s free Podcasts App.
The world has hated Apple Maps with a fiery passion, and Apple is ready to clean house and get rid of key people who were in charge of the disaster.
According to a tweet by Bloomberg news, Richard Williamson, the executive behind Apple’s new Maps app, just got fired by Eddy Cue. After Scott Forstall was recently fired, Cue was given the reigns on the Maps app and it appears that he’s wasting no time getting things fixed.
Google is putting the finishing touches on its standalone Maps app for iOS, according to a new report today from The Wall Street Journal. A beta version of the app has reportedly been distributed to select testers within and outside Google as the search giant gets ready to submit the final version to Apple’s App Store.
Since Apple introduced its own Maps app in iOS 6, there has been much speculation surrounding Google’s plans for its own mapping service on the iPhone. Unless Apple says no, Google Maps should be arriving in the App Store soon.
Apple’s new Maps app leaves a lot to be desired, and while there are some decent alternatives out there, the only worthy replacement for Apple Maps is either Google Maps or Nokia’s Maps. Neither company has an iOS app ready to go just yet, but Nokia is planning to change all that.
In a few weeks Nokia plans to release a maps app for iOS called Here. The app will be free for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch owners, and Nokia is hoping that it will persuade some iOS users to try out their smartphones as well.
Apple’s had dreams of making a car for a long time. Rumors have even floated around that Steve Jobs really wanted to make an iCar and that Apple considered making an iCar before they made the iPhone, but decided against it.
Well, if you can’t make your own car, you might as well team up with one of the most luxurious car companies in the world. In a statement today, Ferrari announced that Eddy Cue, a senior vice president at Apple, will be joining their board of directors.
Apple’s Maps app is a bomb. A stinker. A sign of the company’s impending doom at the hands of Tim Cook, the CEO who replaced the irreplaceable Steve Jobs.
Landmarks are in the wrong place. Roads are missing. The 3D Flyover view looks like a collapsed sponge cake. There are no directions for buses, bikes or pedestrians. Entire cities are marked as hospitals, the Golden Gate Bridge is in the wrong place, and even Apple’s own retail stores can’t be found. It’s such an embarrasment, Tim Cook apologized for its suckiness.
But if you live in San Francisco, the Maps app rocks. I’ve been using Maps for weeks and I’ve fallen in love with it. I use it even if I’m *not* using it, just to watch the gorgeous 3D display unfold as I’m driving around.
Apple’s Maps app is by far the best maps sofware around. Tim Cook is a wussy. You’d love Maps too — if you lived in a geography where it works.
Apple Maps have received a WWE beat down of bad publicity since iOS 6 launched a few weeks ago, but maybe all the drama was a bit overblown. In a survey of 4,300 customers conducted by ChangeWave Research, ninety percent of iPhone 5 owners claimed they “haven’t experienced any problem” with Apple’s Maps app. Six percent of those surveyed said that they think Apple Maps is somewhat of a problem, and only three percent claimed it’s a very big problem
The survey also discovered that one-in-three consumers plan to buy the iPhone 5 in the future, and that 31% of consumers think that Apple switching to the new Lightning port will be “somewhat of a problem” because of the extra costs of buying new cables and adapters.
Source: ChangeWave Research
The advocacy group Consumer Reports wasn’t too friendly toward the iPhone 4, even after Apple offered free bumpers. They didn’t even like the iPhone 4S either. But with the iPhone 5 they’re changing their tune and saying that the iPhone is “among the best smartphones in our Ratings and the best iPhone yet.”
After conducting a series of tests on the iPhone 5, Consumer Reports concluded that the iPhone 5 doesn’t just surpass the iPhone 4S but also a number of other Android smartphones. They even said that despite the widespread criticism its received, Apple Maps is “competent enough.”
Hey, you know what’s getting a bad rap these days? Apple Maps! Sure, the app’s got issues, but it’s not all bee stings and bug bites, and on this episode of The CultCast, we’ll tell you exactly why some of us actually love the new Google usurper.
And then, with the anniversary of his death on Oct. 5th, we remember the life and works of Steve Jobs; ponder why the things he touched all turned to gold; and examine the price he paid for conquering the world of tech.
All that and so much more on our newest CultCast! Subscribe now on iTunes or easily stream it via Apple’s free Podcasts App.
Show notes ahead!
Yes, we know, Apple Maps sucks. You hate it. It’s the biggest screw up the company’s seen since MobileMe. Maybe even worse. But it’s totally fixable, and Apple might not need to do anything more than just open up their wallet and buy one of the most intriguing tech companies right now that is struggling big time – Nokia.
Right now there are three major players in the mobile maps business: Google, Apple, and Nokia. Everyone applauds Google Maps for having the best data and interface, but Nokia has been doing maps for a long time now, and they have access to even more data than Google. They’re also in a financial deathspiral which makes them the perfect company for Apple to acquire to fix their mapping problem.
Apple Maps has taken a lot of heat over the last few weeks for its abysmal performance. The data on Apple Maps is pretty terrible, but there’s no denying it’s one of the prettiest maps apps on available. Case in point, take a look at the detail on Apple’s highway icons on their maps verses that found on Google.
Apple’s icons contain details for each particular state, while Google’s is just a bland icon that’s used for every state highway. Now if Apple Maps could just get their data to be as good as Google Maps they might become everyone’s favorite maps app.
Source: Reddit
We all knew this was coming. It was only a matter of time before Hitler found out about Apple’s new iOS 6 Maps. As you may have already guessed, der Führer isn’t all that happy with the new service and is quite irate over the fact that his house is listed as a fountain in Austria.
Watch the hilarity unfold as Hitler is informed that a Google Maps app has yet to be approved and his army is officially all out of 30-pin connectors.
Apple’s Flyover feature in iOS 6’s new Maps app gives users a really cool way to explore their favorite cities. 3D renderings of major metropolitan areas let you zoom in and out to view buildings in greater detail — kind of like you’re really there.
Right now, there are a limited number of cities that Apple has created 3D renders of (but more are on the way). Here’s a look at all the cities currently supporting Flyover in the new Maps app.