Apple expands Maps Flyover coverage in France

By Christian Zibreg on May 9, 2013

3D Flyover, a headline feature of Apple’s in-house mapping service available on compatible iOS 6 devices, initially included only a handful of U.S. cities. The last major expansion was in March, when Apple added 3D Flyovers in twelve new cities – including such venues as Tokyo Station, Japan Imperial Palace and Tokyo Tower – and expanded Flyover coverage in more than a dozen U.S. cities.

Today, the company added 3D buildings for Paris, France and surrounding areas. I have a feeling iDB’s own Sebastien Page will have lots of fun playing with Maps on his iPad… Read More

 

Waze CEO discusses the state of iOS 6 Maps

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 16, 2013

Waze, a free social GPS application developed by the Israeli start-up Waze Mobile, at point was supposedly going to be acquired by Apple in order to improve iOS 6 Maps data, though later reports dismissed the rumor as wishful thinking.

Its CEO Noam Bardin was interviewed at AllThingsD’s Dive Into Mobile conference yesterday.

Among the topics discussed, Barding shared his observations concerning Apple’s Maps service which debuted as part of iOS 6 in September 2012, here’s what he said… Read More

 

Apple adds Flyover and 3D buildings to several new cities in Maps

By Cody Lee on Mar 13, 2013

When Tim Cook wrote his open letter last September, apologizing for the quality of the new Maps app, he said that Apple would work on it non-stop until it lived up to its incredibly high standards. And it has been.

Though it hasn’t garnered much media attention, Apple has made a number of improvements to its Maps app over the past six months, including adding Flyover support and 3D building images to several new cities… Read More

 

AssistantLove receives an iOS 6 update

By Jeff Benjamin on Feb 18, 2013

One of my favorite jailbreak tweaks, AssistantLove, just received an update for iOS 6 compatibility. AssistantLove was featured in our top jailbreak tweaks of 2012 list, and would have been added to my “perfect iPhone” feature, if it had iOS 6 compatibility at the time.

If you’re a Spotify user like I am, then you will really appreciate what AssistantLove brings to the table. Along with allowing you to integrate GPS apps with Siri, and launch apps using shortcut names, AssistantLove meshes Siri with Spotify. This means that you pretty much search for any song or artist you can think of using your voice. Read More

 

Australian authorities again warn of inaccuracies in Apple Maps

By Cody Lee on Feb 13, 2013

Last December, Police in Victoria, Australia issued a warning regarding Apple’s new Maps app in iOS 6, after several travelers became lost and stranded in a National Park due to poor directions. The advisory added insult to injury after Apple had taken months of criticism over the service.

Well, they’re back at it today. Officials in Victoria, Australia are again warning users of Maps’ inaccuracies, claiming that problems with the software are making it difficult to determine where fires are located in the city’s Country Fire Authority bushfire information app ‘FireReady…’ Read More

 

Apple making big hiring push for iOS Maps team

By Cody Lee on Feb 5, 2013

It seems like criticism for Apple’s Maps app has died down in recent months. What was once the favorite topic of critics and naysayers has been replaced with talk of iPhone 5 part order cuts and the company’s floundering stock.

But that doesn’t mean that the Maps app is up to snuff yet, and Apple knows it. That’s why it’s been working hard to improve the software and, according to new job listings, is making a major hiring push for its Maps team… Read More

 

Surprise, Google Maps app boosts iOS 6 adoption rate

By Christian Zibreg on Dec 18, 2012

According to MoPub, which tracks over a billion ad impressions each day across over 12,000 apps and a dozen ad networks, the release of Google’s Maps iOS app last Wednesday has benefited the iPhone maker in many regards, not least of which is a healthy boost to iOS 6 adoption rates.

The firm saw a 29 increase in unique iOS 6 users in the five days after Google Maps for iOS was released and a thirteen percent increase from Monday to Wednesday.

The reason: those who held off upgrading to iOS 6 because it removed Google’s mapping software are making the jump now that the standalone Google Maps app is on the App Store… Read More

 

Chitika: iOS 6 adoption only rose 0.2% after Google Maps release

By Cody Lee on Dec 15, 2012

Judging from the comment sections on our Google Maps posts, and other feedback from around the web, it seems like quite a few people were holding out for a Google Maps app release before upgrading to iOS 6. And it makes sense, given some of the horror stories we’ve heard.

But according to Chitika, a large mobile ad network who regularly tracks iOS adoption rates and other mobile trends, iOS 6 adoption only rose 0.2% after Wednesday night’s debut of the Google Maps app, suggesting it had no immediate impact on the number of iOS 6 users… Read More

 

Has Google just won the iOS maps war?

By Ed Sutherland on Dec 14, 2012

While most people consider the return of Google Maps to Apple’s App Store an all-around positive, one observer sees the move as a ‘mixed blessing’ for club Cupertino. Not only is the familiar mapping application once again available, but the Android maker Google may now overshadow Apple’s own efforts to make a difference in the increasingly competitive mobile mapping arena. As we reported yesterday, the new Google Maps for iOS is the top free app for the iPhone.

Indeed, Google admits the iOS app – which adds turn-by-turn directions – is superior to the Android version from a design standpoint. But for Google, returning to iOS means it also reconnects with iPhone users and a wealth of data… Read More

 

Samsung dissing Apple’s Maps in Sidney

By Christian Zibreg on Dec 12, 2012

You can’t blame Samsung’s marketing team for pouncing on Apple’s every misstep. Remember the Apple Maps snafu in Australia that led to the police issuing a public warning advising against using the mapping product because it incorrectly placed the town of Mildura in the middle of Australia’s Murray Sunset National Park? Seen at the top is a new display banner found on Sydney’s George Street.

A mud-soaked SUV and a sign that reads “Oops, should have got a Samsung Galaxy S III. Get navigation you can trust” really needs no description. The wrong data Samsung’s ad is referring to was supplied by the Australian government, iDB reported yesterday, and was incorrectly rendered in other mapping products… Read More

 

Australia Maps snafu was the government’s fault

By Christian Zibreg on Dec 11, 2012

When the town of Mildura was showing up inside iOS Maps in the middle of Australia’s Murray Sunset National Park, users were quick to point out that Apple’s data was 43 miles off the town’s actual location. It was already too late: the police issued a public warning as some iPhone-totting travelers had gotten lost in the Park’s maze-like roadways. That the area has poor cell reception and lacks water supply didn’t help either.

Apple has corrected the problem since and now we’ve learned that particular snafu wasn’t Apple’s fault in the first place: the company simply re-used the data supplied by the state of Victoria… Read More

 

Apple quietly fixes dangerous Maps glitch in Australia

By Cody Lee on Dec 10, 2012

Apple’s Maps app took another hit earlier today, when word got out that police in Victoria, Australia had issued a public warning regarding the software. Apparently, they had been receiving a number of calls from travelers who were getting lost in a nearby National Park due to the app’s inaccurate data.

The problem was that the town of Mildura was showing up in the middle of Murray Sunset National Park, about 43 miles south of its actual location. And since the Park has maze-like roadways, poor cell reception and no water supply, this was a potentially dangerous situation. But don’t worry Apple is on it… Read More

 

Australian police issue warning regarding Apple Maps

By Cody Lee on Dec 10, 2012

Apple’s Maps application has had nothing but problems since it was released to the public back in September. Users have complained that the company’s in-house replacement for Google Maps has inaccurate location data and other bugs.

But if you thought Maps was bad before, wait until you hear this. Police in Victoria, Australia issued a warning this weekend regarding the mapping software after several travelers became lost and stranded due to receiving poor directions… Read More

 

Another head rolls over the Maps debacle as Apple seeks advice from TomTom

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 27, 2012

Eddy Cue, Apple’s SVP of Internet Software and Services, is reported to have fired Richard Williamson, an executive who oversaw the team that created Apple’s own and troubled iOS 6 mapping service. The development marks the second high-ranked management departure of an Apple executive over so-called Mapgate, following the ouster of iOS boss and Steve Jobs confidant Scott Forstall last month after a CEO apology over the glaring flaws in Apple’s mapping software.

“We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make maps better”, Cook wrote in lat month’s letter of apology. In an effort to win back trust of its users, Apple is now understood to be seeking outside help to fix Maps. Jump past the fold for the latest info… Read More

 

Turn-by-turn voice navigation for iOS Maps now live in Australia

By Cody Lee on Nov 15, 2012

Apple has taken a lot of heat over its new Maps application in iOS 6. Users have complained that it’s inaccurate, buggy, and doesn’t have anywhere near the international support that Google Maps has.

Well it looks like Apple has made some progress on the latter front. Last night, reports started coming in that the Cupertino company has activated turn-by-turn voice navigation for its Maps app in Australia… Read More

 

Google Maps loses half its marketshare in China due to iOS 6

By Cody Lee on Nov 6, 2012

In an effort to distance itself further from its rival, and to enjoy the benefits of building its own in-house software, Apple replaced Google Maps in iOS 6 with its own mapping solution. And it’s been taking criticism over the switch ever since.

But iOS 6 Maps isn’t just negatively impacting Apple. It’s also substantially eating into Google’s mobile maps marketshare around the globe. According to a new report, Google Maps marketshare declined by nearly 50% in China last quarter… Read More

 

A Google Maps iOS app approval is anything but given, insiders claim

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 5, 2012

Google submitted its native Maps iOS app to Apple in September with the hope of having it approved by Christmas. Two weeks later, its chairman Eric Schmidt acknowledged that a Google Maps iOS app is up to Apple and a newspaper report this morning now suggests that insiders don’t have high hopes that it will be approved by the iPhone maker after all. Google previously released a native YouTube app for iOS devices following the removal of stock YouTube software from iOS 6. Last month, the search Goliath also enabled Street View as a web app in the mobile Safari browser… Read More

 

Why Eddy Cue is the right guy to fix Maps and Siri

By Christian Zibreg on Oct 31, 2012

Senior Vice President Eddy Cue is known as the fixer at Apple, a reputation he built back in 2008, when Steve Jobs appointed him head of iTunes and online services after giving Apple’s cloud team a serious dressing down over the MobileMe(ss) debacle. This 23-year Apple veteran immediately retired the flaky service, built iCloud from the ground up and took control of Apple’s iTunes and App Store infrastructure.

Last September, CEO Cook appointed Cue Apple’s new SVP of of Internet Software and Services, the role that encompasses the iTunes Store, App Store, iBookstore, as well as the iAd advertising platform and iCloud services.

Monday, Cue assumed Maps and Siri responsibilities after Cook fired iOS chief Scott Forstall for shipping buggy software prematurely, clashing with his peers and refusing to apologize personally for Mapgate (it was Cook who eventually signed the public apology instead). We, of course, already knew all of the above. Today, CNET runs an interesting profile which reveals a couple previously unknown tidbits about this able exec… Read More

 

WSJ: Scott Forstall was pushed out of Apple for refusing to sign Maps apology

By Cody Lee on Oct 29, 2012

Earlier this evening, Apple announced some major changes to its executive team. John Browett, the head of Apple Retail, will be leaving the company. And more importantly, so will Senior Vice President of iOS Software Scott Forstall.

Browett’s departure comes as no surprise, as he’s had several missteps in his short time at Apple. But Forstall’s exit caught some folks off guard, begging the question: was it his decision? And according to a new report, the answer is no… Read More

 

Eric Schmidt on Maps situation, the Android-Apple platform fight

By Christian Zibreg on Oct 11, 2012

Google chairman Eric Schmidt sat down with The Wall Street Journal tech columnists Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher last night to talk Maps, Apple and Android. “Apple should have kept our maps”, he remarked. “Apple decided a long time ago to do their own maps”, he revealed, suggesting Google very well knew way in advance that the iPhone maker would nuke Google Maps from orbit on iOS devices.

He also talks about the epic iOS versus Android fight and comments what it would take to persuade him to become an Apple CEO. A couple more highlights and a nice video right after the break… Read More

 
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