Countless thousands have become the subject of candid photos thanks to Google’s Street View campaign. After they’re photographed, their faces are dutifully blurred, and they stand as digital statutes in cyberspace, but one artist likes bringing them back into the real world. More »
Earlier today, Apple CEO Tim Cook issued a public apology to users of the company’s new Maps app. A good portion of the letter addressed the different alternatives that users could take advantage of while Apple was busy improving their own maps. The company is now making it even more convenient to download and install a maps app that isn’t Apple’s own.
The iTunes App Store now has a special “featured” section where Apple has gathered up all of its recommended maps apps into one place, which makes it handy for those looking to get away from the company’s own mapping solution. Some of the apps that they recommend are MotionX, Waze, Mapquest, and TeleNav.
In Cook’s letter, he also mentioned using web apps from Nokia and Google. Apple’s website details how to add shortcuts to these web apps to your iPhone’s home screen. It simply involves tapping the “Share” button in Safari, then tapping “Add to Home Screen”, giving the shortcut a name, and hit “Add”.
All of this is certainly a classy move by Apple, and it’s probably one of the few times that Apple is recommending using an alternative to one of its own apps. I’m sure third-party mapping solutions are seeing an increase in usage as we speak. One company’s misfortune is another company’s fortune.
[via MacRumors]
Apple now makes it super easy to use alternative maps is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Apple had a bad situation on their hands when it became apparent over the past week that their new non-Google “Maps” app appeared to fall short of expectations, but Tim Cook took this situation today and flipped it on its head entirely. It’s not that Cook apologized for the situation – the situation being that Apple Maps (without Google) isn’t as perfect as they wanted it to be – it’s that inside this apology, he encouraged users to use other products while they remain patient for Apple Maps to improve. Tim Cook took a situation where Apple could easily have said “just chill out” to the public and said instead, in so many words, “we’re confident enough in our own product that we’ll literally tell you to use other solutions while we prove to you that you’ll want to return to us when the time is right” – this is rare in the tech industry.
The full apology can be found in our other post from earlier today called “Apple CEO Tim Cook apologizes for Apple Maps fiasco”, but the most important bit can be found here. In one line, Cook takes iOS 6 users down a road containing maps from all of Apple’s new Maps’ main competitors. He even tells users to use Google Maps in a browser.
“While we’re improving Maps, you can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app.” – Tim Cook
It’s absolutely unimportant at this very moment if any other company would have done the same or even if Apple would have done the same in the past. Apple has right this moment entered a new age in which they don’t just create products that compete only with their past products – notice their advertisements that don’t mention the competition – they’ve officially encouraged their competitors to make products that will help them move into the future.
Of course if you think Apple made it this far on it’s own, you’re sorely mistaken. Apple has always relied on their friends AND their competitors to create an ecosystem in which they’ll thrive. I leave you with this undeniably awesome, lighthearted vision from all the way back in 1983 – the Apple Software Dating Game. See what you make of it!
Tim Cook’s Maps apology a massive display of power is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
This sort of seems like piling on. Google just added a bunch of new high res images to its maps. That means its overhead satellite data should be even more up to date, and its 45-degree Flyover-like images will be more abundant. More »
Google’s mapping offerings are getting a little bit better this week. The software giant’s announced the addition of a slew of high-res aerial and satellite images for 17 cities and 112 countries / regions — it’s a long list, so your best bet is accessing the source link below to check out all of the offerings. Google’s also adding 45-degree imagery in Maps for a total of 51 cities — 37 in the US and 14 outside — letting you check out the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the buildings of Madison, Wisconsin from an all new angle. Forget the plane tickets — all you need for your next vacation is a browser and an overactive imagination.
Google offers up more high-res places in Maps / Earth, intros additional 45-degree imagery originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Sep 2012 09:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Everybody—or well, almost everybody—knows that Apple Maps is inferior to Google Maps. There are countless examples of Apple Maps being worse! Motorola, however, ignored all the real examples and used a fake address to show off how Google Maps is better than Apple Maps. Huh? More »
Apple maps is unreliable, half-baked, and down right frustrating. But how does it actually stack up against the competition in real life? Reuters pits Apple’s solution up against Google Maps in a head-to-head race on the ground in Hong Kong, and the results probably won’t surprise you. More »
This morning it’s time to jump on in to games and the innards of devices, and don’t forget the fabulous newness of HiddenRadio, a device we’ve just added a review of up in the last 24 hours and that’s not quite for sale yet – soon! You’ll be interested to hear why Apple ditched Google Maps – it has to do with navigation – surprise! It’s time to break on through to the undead side with Black Ops II Zombie mode now in a brand new first ever gameplay-included preview video.
Kingston has revealed a set of new high capacity SDXC memory cards for your camera and whatnot, and they’re inexpensive. There’s now a cargo ship stuck to the International Space Station because of a glitch – woopsie. The LG Optimus Vu II has been revealed for battle as the Galaxy Note II hits the USA.
The world’s thinnest external hard drive has been revealed by ADATA. Element 113 ununtrium has been synthesized by scientists in Japan. The Jaguar F-TYPE has been revealed for $96,000 USD. Libratone Zipp is a lovely new AirPlay speaker made for the mobile universe.
It’s time for Mass Effect Trilogy action for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and the PC. The next generation of Mifi hotspots has been revealed in the Liberate with AT&T 4G LTE, complete with a 2.8-inch multitouch display. Google’s Eric Schmidt has made it clear that they feel that they innovate while Apple works as a patent troll. Rovio of Angry Birds fame has released Bad Piggies for iOS, Android, PC, and Mac all at once. iPhone 5 Street View is just two weeks away.
SlashGear Morning Wrap-up: September 27, 2012 is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Google Maps for iOS may not be due to hit the iPhone 5 and other iOS 6 devices until the end of the year, but Apple fans will reportedly be able to use Street View on their devices far sooner. While Google’s work on an iOS 6-compatible native version of the mapping app isn’t expected to be ready for release until later in 2012, a browser based Street View for Apple’s gadgets is roughly two weeks away, the NYT reports.
That will fill one obvious omission in functionality from Apple’s own native Maps app, which replaced Google Maps in iOS 6. Although Apple’s software introduces native turn-by-turn directions, missing until now unless iOS users bought third-party navigation apps, it does not include the street-level photography that Google has painstakingly collected over the past years.
The browser-based version of Google Maps for iOS also lacks Street View support currently, but that’s all set to change. Those visiting the site – which can be saved as a shortcut to the iPhone and iPad homescreen – will be able to flip into Street View mode and get a pedestrian-eye preview of where they’re going.
Replicating Street View itself would be an arduous challenge for Apple. Although it has been able to source maps, points-of-interest, and other data from third-party providers – amounting to “many petabytes” of information, Apple claims – there’s no alternative source for what makes Street View special. One possibility is enabling iOS device owners themselves to provide street-level data, perhaps using the same panoramic photo technology as Apple introduced with the iPhone 5′s camera, though it would be a time-consuming and labor-intensive task.
According to Apple, the decision to eject Google Maps from iOS – and do so earlier than its contract for the software actually required – was down to Google’s ongoing refusal to share turn-by-turn. Instead, the functionality was kept for Android devices.
Street View for iPhone 5 and iOS 6 users is two weeks away is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
If you have been following the tech news, then you probably have heard reports whereby Apple had one year left in their contract with Google over Google Maps, but chose to end that contract early and introduce their own Maps. Many are probably wondering why they did that, especially since based on the many reviews, Apple’s own take on Maps has been less than stellar. Well as it turns out, reports have suggested that the reason Apple decided to end their contract with Google early (apart from the obviously rivalry between iOS and Android) is due to one particular feature – voice guided turn-by-turn navigation.
According to sources close to the matter, Apple wanted that feature to be included in an updated version of the Maps app, but considering that was one of the features that Google had on its Android version of its maps that helped set it apart from its iOS version, Google wasn’t too eager to give that feature away. That and reports that Google wanted more say in the development of the iOS map along with the inclusion of Google Latitude had Apple cutting ties early. What do you guys think? Should Apple have just left Google Maps alone and let the contract run out and put more work into their Maps app in the meantime, or do you think Apple made the right decision by cutting the cord early?
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Google Maps go underwater, do we call it Google Seaview?, Google Maps to arrive on iPhone and iPad,
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