If Apple's homegrown mapping solution isn't quite cutting it, your navigation needs may soon be met by a native iOS Google Maps app. Citing an unnamed source, the Wall Street Journal says Page and Co. are distributing a test version of the fabled app to folks outside the firm, making good on their earlier commitment to bring Google Maps to iOS. The WSJ's source expects the app to be outfitted with turn-by-turn navigation, but didn't mention when it might finally see an official release. As it stands, the search giant is said to be putting the finishing touches on the app before submitting it for App Store approval.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Apple, Google
WSJ: Native iOS Google Maps app being tested externally with turn-by-turn navigation baked in originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Nov 2012 18:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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While the hubbub surrounding Apple Maps on iOS 6 has been somewhat sedated, some people who made the move to Google Maps' web app had been further encouraged by word that it'd be getting Street View imagery soon. And what do you know, barely seven days into the estimated "in two weeks" and here it is. Search for a location (no long press yet), and you'll spy the familiar icon bottom right. This appears in both Chrome and Safari. While perhaps still not quite as slick as the good old app of yore, a definite panacea for all those iOS toutin' virtual tourists.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Apple, Google
Street View comes to Google Maps web app on iOS, just like they said it would originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 04:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Well, it's hardly a secret that customers are unhappy with Apple's new mapping solution in iOS 6. And, while the company has admitted that, perhaps, it's not quite up to snuff yet, it has played down Maps' flaws and urged customers to be patient. Today, in an open letter to the Apple faithful, Tim Cook struck a far more candid and conciliatory tone, apologizing for failing to deliver a "world-class" product. Cook went so far as to suggest that unhappy customers could check out offerings from competitors like Bing, MapQuest, Google and Nokia -- at least until Cupertino sorts this mess out. You'll find the complete text of the letter after the break.
Update: As CNET reports, Apple has now also gone one step further and added a new list of featured mapping alternatives to the App Store, including apps from TeleNav, Garmin, Magellan and others.
You can read our editorial on Apple apologies since the launch of the iPhone here.
Continue reading Tim Cook apologizes for Maps mess
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Apple
Tim Cook apologizes for Maps mess originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Sep 2012 08:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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It might seem as if Apple chose its iOS 6 release last week to practice the biblical directive to love one's enemy. For, by ejecting Google Maps from updated iPads and iPhones, Apple hath caused glorious comparisons to shine upon its foe. If most people were unaware of comparative feature sets and quality aspects that distinguish Google Maps from Apple Maps, every tech-loving person on God's earth is an expert now.
The media love a bloodbath, and Joe Nocera led the rhetorical pack by calling Apple Maps an "unmitigated disaster" in a NY Times piece. He wondered whether such calamity would have ensued if Steve Jobs (who called the 1998 "hockey puck" mouse the world's best pointing device) were guiding the company's product evolution. Mr. Nocera argues the Maps replacement as an indicator that Apple has peaked.
I argue that replacing Google Maps with Apple Maps was shrewd, inevitable and an indicator that Apple understands the true battle it wages.
Continue reading Editorial: Apple's smart Maps maneuver
Filed under: Transportation, Wireless, Software
Editorial: Apple's smart Maps maneuver originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 15:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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