News that SVP Eddy Cue fired Richard Williamson, the executive who oversaw the development of Apple's much-maligned mapping service, came out of nowhere and surprised even seasoned watchers.
But who exactly is this Williamson guy?
Not much is known of the executive. Apple didn't list him on its Leadership page and he ain't talking to the press. I did some good ol' digging on the Interwebs and managed to compile a quick backgrounder on the (un)lucky software engineer, here's what I found...
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...
Last week, Nokia's CEO Stephen Elop told reporters at a San Francisco press conference that Nokia was rebranding their mapping service to Here Maps, and would be releasing a native iOS app for the service within a few weeks.
Today, Nokia has made good on that promise, as its Here Maps app has just been spotted in the App Store. The HTML5-based software includes walking and public transportation directions, and many other features...
OS X 10.9, the next major revision to Apple's desktop operating system, will contain Siri and Apple Maps, the two headline capabilities currently exclusively available on newer iPhones, iPads and iPod touches. According to a new report this morning, early builds of OS X 10.9 that were previously spotted in web logs include Siri and Maps integration. Both features are purportedly in the early testing stages so it has yet to be determined if they will be ready for prime time when OS X 10.9 ships some time next year...
Since Apple replaced Google Maps in iOS 6 with its own mapping solution, there's been a lot of talk regarding Google making its own Maps app for the platform. Rumors have persisted that such an app is in development.
But according to a new report this afternoon, it's not only in development, it's almost finished. The Wall Street Journal says that it has learned that Google is currently putting the finishing touches on a native iOS Maps app...
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...
Nokia just announced Here, an upcoming iOS app with voice-guided walking navigation, public transportation directions and offline capability, the latter two glaringly lacking in Apple's in-house built iOS 6 mapping solution. In comparison, Microsoft's Bing app only supports basic maps.
Google has problems of its own, rooted in belief that Apple won't approve a native Google Maps app so it hasn't even submitted it yet. Regardless of the scarcity of details, we'd love to hear your initial thoughts on Here so cast your vote now...
The embattled handset maker Nokia introduced at today's press conference in San Francisco today some interesting news related to maps. In an attempt to beat Google and Apple to the mapping punch, Nokia tapped 20 years of location expertise and its data sets spanning 200 countries to map out a new strategy which involves a re-branding effort, cool new features and a good ol' acquisition. Nokia Maps is no more. Henceforth, the new mapping service shall be known as Here.
The new cloud-based map service works across multiple devices and operating systems, it does directions and location, lets people save favorite locations and supports crowd-sourcing by allowing users to report errors and make changes themselves.
The service is based on HTML5 and an iOS app is in the works, pending Apple's approval. The iOS app will have voice-guided walk navigation, public transport directions and will cache data for offline use. And taking page from Apple's book, Nokia spent an undisclosed sum to snap up California-based 3D mapping company Earthmine, with aim to use its technology to help index the world in 3D...
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...
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...
Apple released the first beta of iOS 6.1 to developers yesterday. It's still early, obviously, but we've already discovered a handful of changes in the new firmware, including revamped Lock screen music controls.
And, as a reader has pointed out to us, iOS 6.1 also adds a new "Report a Problem" button to the stock Maps app. It replaces a smaller bug reporter link, and signifies Apple's commitment to making Maps better...
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...