Today is iPhone 5 launch day. In many time zones to our east, determined Apple fans already have their hands cradling their faster, lighter, thinner and longer iPhone 5 smartphones. People not queuing outside a store have the option of ordering online and waiting for an estimated “Dispatched: 3-4 weeks” time frame, according to the Apple UK online store.
Tokyo, 8 hours ago.
However the manic scramble of consumers to purchase Apple’s latest and greatest isn’t grabbing the headlines as much as the, some might call it, disastrous new mapping app. The new mapping app comes installed as the default maps app on the iPhone 5, and in iOS 6, the software update for iOS devices released yesterday.
Readers of the BBC news story New Apple maps app under fire from users, which is the second most shared news article on the extremely popular news site, commented “I imagine all at Google haven't stopped laughing all day” and “Can't believe Apple have released this Steve Jobs must be turning in his Grave.”The BBC news article and many others offer up a catalogue of glaring errors within Apple Maps.
There is a blog featuring the ‘funniest’ Apple Maps errors worldwide called The Amazing iOS 6 Maps, it is well worth a coffee break browse.
Back to Blightly and let us look at what kinds of navigation problems people are going to have, if they choose to utilise the new iPhone 5/iOS 6 built in mapping service.
- Stratford upon Avon and Solihull are missing
- Uckfield in East Sussex is in the wrong location
- London’s Paddington Station is not labelled
- Many London city ward names are replaced with their medieval alternatives
- Many satellite images of towns in Scotland are covered by cloud (realistic but not useful)
- There are some really odd looking 3D renderings in some locations
iOS 6 users can still access Google Maps easily enough through Safari and even export the HTML5 web app to the homescreen as a handy shortcut. A new iOS 6 Google Maps app is apparently in the pipeline. Do you have iOS6 and your town, workplace or favourite pub is obscured? Let us know. If you are looking to buy an iPhone 5 we compiled a table of the best deals for contract and SIM only options recently.
