Debacle is too strong a word, IMO... Apple screwed up in how the presented the Maps app at introduction... It is taking its first baby steps, but has excellent genes and potential
Yeah, debacle is a strong word. People are reading too much into all of this. There are many facets to this story. When I voiced my concerns for this very issue happening months ago I never said that it will be the death of Apple or any other extreme comments but it was mostly read that way, and sill is.
I just don't get why some can't accept that a week old Apple Maps isn't besting a nearly 8 year old Google Maps out of the gate. How was that even on the table in some people's minds?
Tim is unlike Jobs -- and it would be a big mistake for Tim to try to act like Jobs... Steve chose Tim because of who Tim was -- not because Tim approximated who Steve was.
I think Steve would have done the same thing. I think Maps would have been pushed and I think in a year the whole thing will not be an issue just as antenna-gate (which was an entire media event) wasn't a real issue. They are still selling these faulty iPhone 4's that can't even make a call unless you were a Faraday cage glove to block the Thetans being released by your body¡
I've seen a lot of anecdotal reports about Apple's map quality. This is frustrating, since there's inconsistency in what one person tests vs another.
I did find one attempt to quantify the accuracy of Apple's geocoder using city names in Ontario, Canada. The results aren't good: Apple returned correct data only 20% of the time. Certainly, there is much more to a map than the geocoder, but this is a pretty bad first start for Apple.
Did you submit your results to Apple? If you do/did, I wonder how long before they update it.
Any way to know how Google fares with the same test? Can you still build for iOS 5 maps in Xcode?
Now can we get onto more important issues affecting Apple? For instance, why didn't they change their Maps icon to show their new spaceship location instead of 1 Infinite Loop?
Find My Phone on an iDevice uses a TomTom backend -- On iCloud it uses a Google backend.
Here is what I think Apple is doing:
getting mobile mapping off of Google ASAP
eventually, migrate all Apple mapping to the new backend
avoid the problems when trying to change everything at once ala MobileMe
I think #1 is most important in that it prevents Google from tracking millions of iDevices and using billions of map requests to refine the Google backend.
I suspect that a statistician could plot the tipping point that results from removing billions of requests from Google and moving them to Apple.
Data... is Da' Man!
When it comes to most things Apple releases I appreciate that they focus on a certain aspect, make it great from the start, then add features and expand from there. But maps are very different, they needed to make this feature reach and compete out of the gate. This is why I've been right from day one about this sort of public backlash.
So why is this different? It's because they aren't creating a new way for users to use maps, but simply replacing a maps app. As I've said constantly, it is brilliant in many ways and potential for being the best overall mapping app in the business but it's also very anemic. They had years so why isn't there a web presence built alongside and ready for Sept 19th, 2012? Why did they wait so long to get into mapping? It's no one's fault but Apple that they trusted Google/Schmidt. Note that Schmidt stepped down the beginning of August 2009 and by the end of September 2009 Apple had bought PlaceBase.
If there is anything to learn hear is that Apple does learn from its mistakes (which they've shown time and time again).
I agree with everything you said. Given the timing and the choices available, I think that Apple did the right thing... didn't do it very well, mind you -- but did the right thing.
The timing of Schmidt and PlaceBase is interesting. It is possible, that in late 2009, that the Apple-Google relationship could still be repaired -- we won't do services like search and maps -- you won't do mobile OSes. Who knows, but Jobs and Schmidt were still speaking at that time... Perhaps PlaceBase was just Apple showing the flag.
One can dither that Apple could have bought PlaceBase earlier or that they were wise to buy it when they did...
But. that's all in the past! I am happy that Maps is out from underneath Google's thumb --- as, daily, they become more undesirable as a partner, competitor, service provider.
- Tech journalists are unqualified hacks unless they have a degree in engineering or extensive training in software development. (all sports journalists are trained athletes)
- NYT's loathes Apple and they pile on at every opportunity. They even time their articles to cause Apple maximum hurt.
- Nobody reads the NYT's anymore so wtf cares what their writers have to say?
- Google may have secretly released an app that is only available on jailbroken phones because it supports violating warranties and maybe even considered malware. This is the scandal nobody is investigating. Why?!?! Because the media hates Apple!!!
- The sources in the story are surely fired ex-Apple employees with an axe to grind
- Apple's map technology is already year's ahead of Google, they will destroy Google with the next release; Google is terrified because they know this is true.
- Tim Cook has already said sorry therefore all journalists and writers with something negative to say should be silenced. We all know the issue has been put to bed since Apple is sorry. Anyone who publishes another negative maps-related article at this point is clearly anti-Apple.
- Only a dozen or so iPhone 5s are known to be scratched at this point. Apple sold 5 million iPhone 5's so far. So 4,999,988 of them were perfect, and yet the Apple hating media writes a ton of stories about possible manufacturing defects.
All of this from reading just the first two pages of this thread.
I'm sure the other 5 pages (at the time of me posting) follow similar themes (as all these threads based around a negative Apple article do) so in the words of Ryan Seacrest: I'M OUT.
I have actually heard that used on more than 1 occasion.
By terse, I was referring to Cook's instructions. That one paragraph is the only paragraph in his letter that consists of just a single sentence. Cook might have suggested users continue to use iOS 6 Maps (after all, it's often not that bad), but instead he recommends users try alternatives. Not well-crafted.
...didn't do it very well, mind you -- but did the right thing.
Another way to look at it is taking a bullet. We can say that only idiots get shot or something to that effect but if we look at the whole picture perhaps we'd see that Apple has taken a bullet for us and in a year Maps will be fully recovered and we'll be better off than we would have had Apple stuck with Google for another year and regenerated their contract.
Another analogy (thought these would be easier) would be jumping off a 3 story building that's on fire. You either get severely burned which won't fully heal or risk breaking a leg or two from the fall. It's a bad situation all around but I think I'd risk the broken leg(s).
I'd even say that with only 3 years since buying their first mapping company and the dozen or more mapping partners listed for Apple Maps I think they did a hell of a job, just not nearly as complete of a job as would have been required to prevent this backlash. IOW, there is no paradigm shift that will occur from Apple Maps the way the iPhone/iOS, iPod and Mac et al. has done to the industry when Apple released them. It's now just playing catchup to the giants in these fields and that's like trying to use a Rook to catch a Queen.
Silly really. First, Mobile Me was largely just free iTools revamped. iTools was hugely popular and it was free. When Apple changed to the Mobile Me model, is when popularity weaned. Further, by all counts iCloud is doing well. It is my only email service.
Second, Ping was not ill conceived, it was a product designed to work with Facebook. Apple couldn't strike a deal with Facebook, and released the product with Facebook integration anyway. Facebook pulled the plug. Not really Apple's fault.
By terse, I was referring to Cook's instructions. That one paragraph is the only paragraph in his letter that consists of just a single sentence. Cook might have suggested users continue to use iOS 6 Maps (after all, it's often not that bad), but instead he recommends users try alternatives. Not well-crafted.
Cook did not recommend people use alternatives to Apple Maps. Instead, after talking about all the people using Maps, he said while Apple is improving the product, people can use alternatives. Can is the operative word. Not should. The implication is stay with us, but if the product doesn't work for you here are some alternates you might like better.
I think Steve would have done the same thing. I think Maps would have been pushed and I think in a year the whole thing will not be an issue just as antenna-gate (which was an entire media event) wasn't a real issue.
The only difference is Jobs might have called a media event. He, however, would not have apologized. Jobs might have called the product a beta out of the gate, which would have solved a lot of problems. If not, he would have said something like:
"Apple's mission is to make the best products in the world for our customers. That is the whole purpose of our existence. Our new map application found in iOS 6 is no exception. We designed it with the intent of it being the best Map application on the planet.
With that said, there has been a lot of media attention surrounding our new Map application. Most of the media stories paint our application in a bad light. The purpose of this open letter is to address these criticisms.
Before I do this, let me explain a little bit about why we changed our Map application. There is a proverb that says if you want to make a great omelet you have to be willing to break a few eggs. This essentially means if you want to achieve something wonderful, you have to be willing to destroy what is already there. This is the approach Apple took with its new map application. Apple wished to provide customers with great new features like turn by turn directions, beautiful graphics, and voice search. Our existing map partnership with Google, however, failed to allow us to do that. So with our new Map application we started from scratch to deliver these features.
After a week on the market I can tell you that many of our customers love the new features like turn - by -turn directions, the speed of the application, fly over, Siri integration, and the amazing graphics. Some other customers, however, are rightfully concerned that the application has work to do in terms of providing correct information in regards to finding locations as well as some rendering issues.
In truth, we simply failed to anticipate the amount of these errors being reported by these customers. We fully intend to investigate all these concerns, and rapidly issue fixes where necessary. I apologize if these bugs have caused some of our customers trouble.
Meanwhile, please know a map application is largely dependent on user information because maps frequently change. All large mapping companies like Google and Nokia rely on users to help correct information contained in the maps. Apple is no exception. To address some of our users concerns we rely heavily on user impute to point out mistakes. We sincerely appreciate our customers who have been using the application and reporting incorrect information.
Despite some of the rough edges in our first release, the application has laid the foundation for the best mapping application out there. I ask you to stick with us as we do our best to make the needed changes quickly.
Please know, if our new map application is not usable for your needs, there are a variety of excellent third party maps on our App Store. If necessary for your needs, I invite you to try them out. Thank you".
I have actually heard that used on more than 1 occasion.
By terse, I was referring to Cook's instructions. That one paragraph is the only paragraph in his letter that consists of just a single sentence. Cook might have suggested users continue to use iOS 6 Maps (after all, it's often not that bad), but instead he recommends users try alternatives. Not well-crafted.
I agree!
Quote:
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.
That is a very difficult idea to present... We want you to keep using Maps, but here are some specific alternatives that may help you the get over the bumps.
Odd that he didn't mention Navigon, TomTom or even Street Viewer... but that quickly becomes more information (alternatives) than Apple wants to provide.
It may have been wordsmithed a bit too much. I think I would have liked a more direct approach -- Something like:
"We hope that you will continue to use Maps and help us to improve it! For those times when you need added capability, there are alternatives on our app store...."
I think Steve would have done the same thing. I think Maps would have been pushed and I think in a year the whole thing will not be an issue just as antenna-gate (which was an entire media event) wasn't a real issue.
The only difference is Jobs might have called a media event. He, however, would not have apologized. Jobs might have called the product a beta out of the gate, which would have solved a lot of problems. If not, he would have said something like:
"Apple's mission is to make the best products in the world for our customers. That is the whole purpose of our existence. Our new map application found in iOS 6 is no exception. We designed it with the intent of it being the best Map application on the planet.
With that said, there has been a lot of media attention surrounding our new Map application. Most of the media stories paint our application in a bad light. The purpose of this open letter is to address these criticisms.
Before I do this, let me explain a little bit about why we changed our Map application. There is a proverb that says if you want to make a great omelet you have to be willing to break a few eggs. This essentially means if you want to achieve something wonderful, you have to be willing to destroy what is already there. This is the approach Apple took with its new map application. Apple wished to provide customers with great new features like turn by turn directions, beautiful graphics, and voice search. Our existing map partnership with Google, however, failed to allow us to do that. So with our new Map application we started from scratch to deliver these features.
After a week on the market I can tell you that many of our customers love the new features like turn - by -turn directions, the speed of the application, fly over, Siri integration, and the amazing graphics. Some other customers, however, are rightfully concerned that the application has work to do in terms of providing correct information in regards to finding locations as well as some rendering issues.
In truth, we simply failed to anticipate the amount of these errors being reported by these customers. We fully intend to investigate all these concerns, and rapidly issue fixes where necessary. I apologize if these bugs have caused some of our customers trouble.
Meanwhile, please know a map application is largely dependent on user information because maps frequently change. All large mapping companies like Google and Nokia rely on users to help correct information contained in the maps. Apple is no exception. To address some of our users concerns we rely heavily on user impute to point out mistakes. We sincerely appreciate our customers who have been using the application and reporting incorrect information.
Despite some of the rough edges in our first release, the application has laid the foundation for the best mapping application out there. I ask you to stick with us as we do our best to make the needed changes quickly.
Please know, if our new map application is not usable for your needs, there are a variety of excellent third party maps on our App Store. If necessary for your needs, I invite you to try them out. Thank you".
The only difference is Jobs might have called a media event. He, however, would not have apologized. Jobs might have called the product a beta out of the gate, which would have solved a lot of problems. If not, he would have said something like:
[edit]
I wholeheartedly disagree with that. The iPhone 4 required a press release because it's a HW product and it needed a lot of explaining and comparison. That is also where they actually make money. Maps isn't just one app it's not even the app itself that is lacking.
All this is most comparable to the email Apple sent out to customers about the MobileMe debacle (now that was a debacle!). That was a service just as Apple Maps is a service.
Here is a list of Oops! from Apple. I had forgotten about most of these...
Well, this is the last day of FQ2012 and FY2012... And the iPhone 5 has been on sale for 9 days...
Any SWAG estimates for number sold?
I take 11.5 Million!
A 11.5 million in 9 days? Let's remember that MS is still falsely holding the claim for the fastest selling CE with the Kinect at 8 million units in 60 days.
Hi. I've been reading your stupid bullshit for a few months now, and have decided that your entire staff is a bunch of fucktards. You don't know shit about what you're writing, you don't know shit about the industry, and your writers are assholes. All they care about is destroying the bug guy, the successful guy. I guarantee that if (hmm, what companies do they praise( oh, oh, Google was a $625,000,000,000 company, you would be slamming them about every little detail that they miss like, um, their entire OS! Yeah, the unstable one. Yeah, the power hungry inefficient one. Yeah, the stupid one. Yeah, I could go on and on about the shittyness of Android, but to get the the point, you suck ass. Your reports are biased and most likely sponsored by whatever company it praises. You have no legitimate opinions, you provide know proof to show any of your stupid claims are true, and we should not be citing you and your idiotic articles on this halfway-decent forum.
Lol
Mobile me had launch trouble because of how ambitious it was and quickly became known for being awesome. Not a negative.
In fact, from MobileMe to iTunes, to iCloud, apple seems to "get" Internet services like few companies do.
Your so delusional that you almost sound like Tallest.
iTools was such a collosal piece of shit that Apple killed it. Then came .Mac that was so awesome that 14 whole people world-wide used it... For a few months. Then there was MobileMe, so awesome that they couldn't even give it away free.
No, mobileme didn't go on to become awesome - it became a running joke.
Apple has had it's ass handed to them repeatedly by small startups that 'get' it a lot more
Then them, so i dont know wtf your talking about.
They have all had the potential to be awesome - but Apples seething greed and need to control markets has always stood in their way.
Comments
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cpsro
@jragosta: to summarize, IMHO, Cook's letter was not well-crafted. (even the provided instructions seem terse and out of place or rushed).
Nah! Here's terse:
We understand the problem!
We have our best people working on it!
We have no further comments at this time!
I have actually heard that used on more than 1 occasion.
Yeah, debacle is a strong word. People are reading too much into all of this. There are many facets to this story. When I voiced my concerns for this very issue happening months ago I never said that it will be the death of Apple or any other extreme comments but it was mostly read that way, and sill is.
I just don't get why some can't accept that a week old Apple Maps isn't besting a nearly 8 year old Google Maps out of the gate. How was that even on the table in some people's minds?
I think Steve would have done the same thing. I think Maps would have been pushed and I think in a year the whole thing will not be an issue just as antenna-gate (which was an entire media event) wasn't a real issue. They are still selling these faulty iPhone 4's that can't even make a call unless you were a Faraday cage glove to block the Thetans being released by your body¡
Did you submit your results to Apple? If you do/did, I wonder how long before they update it.
Any way to know how Google fares with the same test? Can you still build for iOS 5 maps in Xcode?
Quote:
Originally Posted by SolipsismX
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum
Find My Phone on an iDevice uses a TomTom backend -- On iCloud it uses a Google backend.
Here is what I think Apple is doing:
getting mobile mapping off of Google ASAP
eventually, migrate all Apple mapping to the new backend
avoid the problems when trying to change everything at once ala MobileMe
I think #1 is most important in that it prevents Google from tracking millions of iDevices and using billions of map requests to refine the Google backend.
I suspect that a statistician could plot the tipping point that results from removing billions of requests from Google and moving them to Apple.
Data... is Da' Man!
When it comes to most things Apple releases I appreciate that they focus on a certain aspect, make it great from the start, then add features and expand from there. But maps are very different, they needed to make this feature reach and compete out of the gate. This is why I've been right from day one about this sort of public backlash.
So why is this different? It's because they aren't creating a new way for users to use maps, but simply replacing a maps app. As I've said constantly, it is brilliant in many ways and potential for being the best overall mapping app in the business but it's also very anemic. They had years so why isn't there a web presence built alongside and ready for Sept 19th, 2012? Why did they wait so long to get into mapping? It's no one's fault but Apple that they trusted Google/Schmidt. Note that Schmidt stepped down the beginning of August 2009 and by the end of September 2009 Apple had bought PlaceBase.
If there is anything to learn hear is that Apple does learn from its mistakes (which they've shown time and time again).
I agree with everything you said. Given the timing and the choices available, I think that Apple did the right thing... didn't do it very well, mind you -- but did the right thing.
The timing of Schmidt and PlaceBase is interesting. It is possible, that in late 2009, that the Apple-Google relationship could still be repaired -- we won't do services like search and maps -- you won't do mobile OSes. Who knows, but Jobs and Schmidt were still speaking at that time... Perhaps PlaceBase was just Apple showing the flag.
One can dither that Apple could have bought PlaceBase earlier or that they were wise to buy it when they did...
But. that's all in the past! I am happy that Maps is out from underneath Google's thumb --- as, daily, they become more undesirable as a partner, competitor, service provider.
This thread is fantastic comedy value:
- Tech journalists are unqualified hacks unless they have a degree in engineering or extensive training in software development. (all sports journalists are trained athletes)
- NYT's loathes Apple and they pile on at every opportunity. They even time their articles to cause Apple maximum hurt.
- Nobody reads the NYT's anymore so wtf cares what their writers have to say?
- Google may have secretly released an app that is only available on jailbroken phones because it supports violating warranties and maybe even considered malware. This is the scandal nobody is investigating. Why?!?! Because the media hates Apple!!!
- The sources in the story are surely fired ex-Apple employees with an axe to grind
- Apple's map technology is already year's ahead of Google, they will destroy Google with the next release; Google is terrified because they know this is true.
- Tim Cook has already said sorry therefore all journalists and writers with something negative to say should be silenced. We all know the issue has been put to bed since Apple is sorry. Anyone who publishes another negative maps-related article at this point is clearly anti-Apple.
- Only a dozen or so iPhone 5s are known to be scratched at this point. Apple sold 5 million iPhone 5's so far. So 4,999,988 of them were perfect, and yet the Apple hating media writes a ton of stories about possible manufacturing defects.
All of this from reading just the first two pages of this thread.
I'm sure the other 5 pages (at the time of me posting) follow similar themes (as all these threads based around a negative Apple article do) so in the words of Ryan Seacrest: I'M OUT.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum
Nah! Here's terse:
We understand the problem!
We have our best people working on it!
We have no further comments at this time!
I have actually heard that used on more than 1 occasion.
By terse, I was referring to Cook's instructions. That one paragraph is the only paragraph in his letter that consists of just a single sentence. Cook might have suggested users continue to use iOS 6 Maps (after all, it's often not that bad), but instead he recommends users try alternatives. Not well-crafted.
Another way to look at it is taking a bullet. We can say that only idiots get shot or something to that effect but if we look at the whole picture perhaps we'd see that Apple has taken a bullet for us and in a year Maps will be fully recovered and we'll be better off than we would have had Apple stuck with Google for another year and regenerated their contract.
Another analogy (thought these would be easier) would be jumping off a 3 story building that's on fire. You either get severely burned which won't fully heal or risk breaking a leg or two from the fall. It's a bad situation all around but I think I'd risk the broken leg(s).
I'd even say that with only 3 years since buying their first mapping company and the dozen or more mapping partners listed for Apple Maps I think they did a hell of a job, just not nearly as complete of a job as would have been required to prevent this backlash. IOW, there is no paradigm shift that will occur from Apple Maps the way the iPhone/iOS, iPod and Mac et al. has done to the industry when Apple released them. It's now just playing catchup to the giants in these fields and that's like trying to use a Rook to catch a Queen.
Silly really. First, Mobile Me was largely just free iTools revamped. iTools was hugely popular and it was free. When Apple changed to the Mobile Me model, is when popularity weaned. Further, by all counts iCloud is doing well. It is my only email service.
Second, Ping was not ill conceived, it was a product designed to work with Facebook. Apple couldn't strike a deal with Facebook, and released the product with Facebook integration anyway. Facebook pulled the plug. Not really Apple's fault.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cpsro
By terse, I was referring to Cook's instructions. That one paragraph is the only paragraph in his letter that consists of just a single sentence. Cook might have suggested users continue to use iOS 6 Maps (after all, it's often not that bad), but instead he recommends users try alternatives. Not well-crafted.
Cook did not recommend people use alternatives to Apple Maps. Instead, after talking about all the people using Maps, he said while Apple is improving the product, people can use alternatives. Can is the operative word. Not should. The implication is stay with us, but if the product doesn't work for you here are some alternates you might like better.
Quote:
Originally Posted by charlituna
]
iCloud.com works just fine on a PC
Yes, but I believe you need an iOS device or Mac to get an account.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SolipsismX
I think Steve would have done the same thing. I think Maps would have been pushed and I think in a year the whole thing will not be an issue just as antenna-gate (which was an entire media event) wasn't a real issue.
The only difference is Jobs might have called a media event. He, however, would not have apologized. Jobs might have called the product a beta out of the gate, which would have solved a lot of problems. If not, he would have said something like:
"Apple's mission is to make the best products in the world for our customers. That is the whole purpose of our existence. Our new map application found in iOS 6 is no exception. We designed it with the intent of it being the best Map application on the planet.
With that said, there has been a lot of media attention surrounding our new Map application. Most of the media stories paint our application in a bad light. The purpose of this open letter is to address these criticisms.
Before I do this, let me explain a little bit about why we changed our Map application. There is a proverb that says if you want to make a great omelet you have to be willing to break a few eggs. This essentially means if you want to achieve something wonderful, you have to be willing to destroy what is already there. This is the approach Apple took with its new map application. Apple wished to provide customers with great new features like turn by turn directions, beautiful graphics, and voice search. Our existing map partnership with Google, however, failed to allow us to do that. So with our new Map application we started from scratch to deliver these features.
After a week on the market I can tell you that many of our customers love the new features like turn - by -turn directions, the speed of the application, fly over, Siri integration, and the amazing graphics. Some other customers, however, are rightfully concerned that the application has work to do in terms of providing correct information in regards to finding locations as well as some rendering issues.
In truth, we simply failed to anticipate the amount of these errors being reported by these customers. We fully intend to investigate all these concerns, and rapidly issue fixes where necessary. I apologize if these bugs have caused some of our customers trouble.
Meanwhile, please know a map application is largely dependent on user information because maps frequently change. All large mapping companies like Google and Nokia rely on users to help correct information contained in the maps. Apple is no exception. To address some of our users concerns we rely heavily on user impute to point out mistakes. We sincerely appreciate our customers who have been using the application and reporting incorrect information.
Despite some of the rough edges in our first release, the application has laid the foundation for the best mapping application out there. I ask you to stick with us as we do our best to make the needed changes quickly.
Please know, if our new map application is not usable for your needs, there are a variety of excellent third party maps on our App Store. If necessary for your needs, I invite you to try them out. Thank you".
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cpsro
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum
Nah! Here's terse:
We understand the problem!
We have our best people working on it!
We have no further comments at this time!
I have actually heard that used on more than 1 occasion.
By terse, I was referring to Cook's instructions. That one paragraph is the only paragraph in his letter that consists of just a single sentence. Cook might have suggested users continue to use iOS 6 Maps (after all, it's often not that bad), but instead he recommends users try alternatives. Not well-crafted.
I agree!
Quote:
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.
That is a very difficult idea to present... We want you to keep using Maps, but here are some specific alternatives that may help you the get over the bumps.
Odd that he didn't mention Navigon, TomTom or even Street Viewer... but that quickly becomes more information (alternatives) than Apple wants to provide.
It may have been wordsmithed a bit too much. I think I would have liked a more direct approach -- Something like:
"We hope that you will continue to use Maps and help us to improve it! For those times when you need added capability, there are alternatives on our app store...."
It's a toughy!
Quote:
Originally Posted by TBell
Quote:
Originally Posted by SolipsismX
I think Steve would have done the same thing. I think Maps would have been pushed and I think in a year the whole thing will not be an issue just as antenna-gate (which was an entire media event) wasn't a real issue.
The only difference is Jobs might have called a media event. He, however, would not have apologized. Jobs might have called the product a beta out of the gate, which would have solved a lot of problems. If not, he would have said something like:
"Apple's mission is to make the best products in the world for our customers. That is the whole purpose of our existence. Our new map application found in iOS 6 is no exception. We designed it with the intent of it being the best Map application on the planet.
With that said, there has been a lot of media attention surrounding our new Map application. Most of the media stories paint our application in a bad light. The purpose of this open letter is to address these criticisms.
Before I do this, let me explain a little bit about why we changed our Map application. There is a proverb that says if you want to make a great omelet you have to be willing to break a few eggs. This essentially means if you want to achieve something wonderful, you have to be willing to destroy what is already there. This is the approach Apple took with its new map application. Apple wished to provide customers with great new features like turn by turn directions, beautiful graphics, and voice search. Our existing map partnership with Google, however, failed to allow us to do that. So with our new Map application we started from scratch to deliver these features.
After a week on the market I can tell you that many of our customers love the new features like turn - by -turn directions, the speed of the application, fly over, Siri integration, and the amazing graphics. Some other customers, however, are rightfully concerned that the application has work to do in terms of providing correct information in regards to finding locations as well as some rendering issues.
In truth, we simply failed to anticipate the amount of these errors being reported by these customers. We fully intend to investigate all these concerns, and rapidly issue fixes where necessary. I apologize if these bugs have caused some of our customers trouble.
Meanwhile, please know a map application is largely dependent on user information because maps frequently change. All large mapping companies like Google and Nokia rely on users to help correct information contained in the maps. Apple is no exception. To address some of our users concerns we rely heavily on user impute to point out mistakes. We sincerely appreciate our customers who have been using the application and reporting incorrect information.
Despite some of the rough edges in our first release, the application has laid the foundation for the best mapping application out there. I ask you to stick with us as we do our best to make the needed changes quickly.
Please know, if our new map application is not usable for your needs, there are a variety of excellent third party maps on our App Store. If necessary for your needs, I invite you to try them out. Thank you".
Clap, Clap, Clap!
Helluva a preso!
Apple PR is on your other iPhone....
I wholeheartedly disagree with that. The iPhone 4 required a press release because it's a HW product and it needed a lot of explaining and comparison. That is also where they actually make money. Maps isn't just one app it's not even the app itself that is lacking.
All this is most comparable to the email Apple sent out to customers about the MobileMe debacle (now that was a debacle!). That was a service just as Apple Maps is a service.
Here is a list of Oops! from Apple. I had forgotten about most of these...
SOT...
Well, this is the last day of FQ2012 and FY2012... And the iPhone 5 has been on sale for 9 days...
Any SWAG estimates for number sold?
I take 11.5 Million!
A 11.5 million in 9 days? Let's remember that MS is still falsely holding the claim for the fastest selling CE with the Kinect at 8 million units in 60 days.
Hi. I've been reading your stupid bullshit for a few months now, and have decided that your entire staff is a bunch of fucktards. You don't know shit about what you're writing, you don't know shit about the industry, and your writers are assholes. All they care about is destroying the bug guy, the successful guy. I guarantee that if (hmm, what companies do they praise( oh, oh, Google was a $625,000,000,000 company, you would be slamming them about every little detail that they miss like, um, their entire OS! Yeah, the unstable one. Yeah, the power hungry inefficient one. Yeah, the stupid one. Yeah, I could go on and on about the shittyness of Android, but to get the the point, you suck ass. Your reports are biased and most likely sponsored by whatever company it praises. You have no legitimate opinions, you provide know proof to show any of your stupid claims are true, and we should not be citing you and your idiotic articles on this halfway-decent forum.
Sincerely,
logandigges
[email protected]
Your so delusional that you almost sound like Tallest.
iTools was such a collosal piece of shit that Apple killed it. Then came .Mac that was so awesome that 14 whole people world-wide used it... For a few months. Then there was MobileMe, so awesome that they couldn't even give it away free.
No, mobileme didn't go on to become awesome - it became a running joke.
Apple has had it's ass handed to them repeatedly by small startups that 'get' it a lot more
Then them, so i dont know wtf your talking about.
They have all had the potential to be awesome - but Apples seething greed and need to control markets has always stood in their way.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hill60
Hey New York Times,
...
you didn't even read the article; it made positive references to iTunes.