Smarting from ridicule over Maps app on release date for iPhone 5
On the day that Apple aficionados are able to get their hands on the first iPhone 5 smartphones, the company is smarting over widespread ridicule and dismay at its Map app, which is creating new worlds unaided.
The device's pre-orders hit a massive two million in just 24 hours, more than double the previous record of one million held by iPhone 4S. Demand for iPhone 5 exceeds the initial supply, Apple confirmed. It said that while the majority of pre-orders will be delivered to customers today, 21 September, many are now scheduled to be delivered in October.
Also, Apple fans are now able to update their iStuff to iOS6. The update, which provides users with over 200 new features, is available to existing users via the iTunes store, or for mobile users, an over the air update is available.
However, users are already upset at the new maps feature, the 3D version of which is only US-ready at this point. While the mapping feature does looks good, unfortunately for Apple it does not actually work. Users are complaining of buildings and airports appearing on maps when they do not exist, and major features such as bridges being omitted.
The new upgrade also removes various useful apps that people have come to rely on, including working map service, Google Maps, which has been replaced by Apple's dodgy version. YouTube is also being deleted by the upgrade to many users' horror. Yet it can be re-loaded through the App Store, as the company appears to be one step ahead of Apple.
Users of Twitter are today warning other users not to upgrade to iOS6 if it means losing Google Maps for Apple's effort. One person Tweeted: 'Beware of the traffic tomorrow morning when all of the new iPhone 5 users can't find their way home.'
Smart Chimps thinks: Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Apple, Apple, Apple. What have you done? You have been famed in the past for delivering kit that works, unlike many manufacturers that pump out devices way before the testing period should be finished. Not any more. And now you remove a brilliant mapping feature from your latest and greatest (?!) to replace it with something probably powered by a small Capuchin Monkey with lego bricks and a tab of Acid? Damage control time now, although I'm sure the Apple fans will forgive and forget – or will they? Android, anyone? What about WP8? Bad monkey!
