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Re:The Amazing iOS 6 Maps by shawnc on Thursday September 20, 2012 @01:55PM (#4549755)
Does Apple have a Maps program on the Android devices? Are there other Maps programs available on the iOS devices? Saying Apple is 'forcing' users onto their product is a bit much.
Re:The Amazing iOS 6 Maps by adildoatemybaby on Thursday September 20, 2012 @02:16PM (#4549877)
You're being obtuse, people have money invested in the Apple ecosystem, it's not easy to switch, and no other mapping app will have the iOS integration Maps does. Until a comparable app is available on the OS, yes Apple is forcing users onto their product.
Re:The Amazing iOS 6 Maps by mynameishere on Thursday September 20, 2012 @04:41PM (#4550566)
Re:The Amazing iOS 6 Maps by taligent on Thursday September 20, 2012 @02:34PM (#4549961)
You're not forced to upgrade to iOS6 nor is Apple blocking Google Maps on the browser.
Re:The Amazing iOS 6 Maps by untog on Thursday September 20, 2012 @02:43PM (#4550021)
You're not forced to upgrade to iOS6

Oh, come on.

nor is Apple blocking Google Maps on the browser

And nor are they allowing third party apps to integrate into the OS in the way their Maps app does.

Re:The Amazing iOS 6 Maps by underwater on Thursday September 20, 2012 @06:01PM (#4550982)
I upgraded to iOS6 to get the turn-by-turn navigation. Now I discover that only iPhone 4S and 5 devices get voice guidance. There is no way I can get Google Maps back without jailbreaking my phone.

The voice limitation appears to be simply planned obsolescence; Waze can handle it without issues. This is a slap in the face to someone who paid a lot of money to Apple for a current-generation phone a little over a year ago.

Apple's closed platform has worked only because they've been able to give consumers such a high-quality experience. I think this fiasco will be a big wake-up call to lots of iPhone owners about how Apple's limitations can hurt them.

Re:The Amazing iOS 6 Maps by philwelch on Friday September 21, 2012 @02:43AM (#4552619)
> There is no way I can get Google Maps back without jailbreaking my phone.

You can't restore from a pre-upgrade backup?

Re:The Amazing iOS 6 Maps by Nicole060 on Friday September 21, 2012 @07:59AM (#4553363)
If you didn't jailbreak beforehand and capture the SHSH blob, no, you can't. So for the vast majority of people who upgraded to iOS 6 there is no going back.

http://blog.iphone-dev.org/

That's the cost of being inside a walled garden. You don't even have the freedom to install previous firmwares on your device.

But since the browser is part of a firmware upgrade it would be a terrible idea anyway, a new security bug has been found on mobile safari recently, you don't want to stay on older fimrwares if you can help it. Google maps, or a secure browser ? Pick one.

Re:The Amazing iOS 6 Maps by mavhc on Thursday September 20, 2012 @02:43PM (#4550015)
Unless you want, say, security updates. You're also forced to buy a new phone/device if you want them after x years too, where x is a low number
Re:The Amazing iOS 6 Maps by astral303 on Thursday September 20, 2012 @03:44PM (#4550316)
Where X is a number considerably higher than for Android. Look at the number of years the 3GS has survived and compare that with your average Android phone not getting latest OS updates or any security updates.

But I agree that anyone buying a new phone is stuck with iOS 6.

Re:The Amazing iOS 6 Maps by fpgeek on Thursday September 20, 2012 @10:25PM (#4551897)
It depends on what kind of updates you're talking about. OS updates are a problem, but I personally know that the G1 got around 3 years of Maps app updates, and given the current OS version distribution newer devices are likely to do even better than that.
Re:The Amazing iOS 6 Maps by jronald on Friday September 21, 2012 @09:45AM (#4553693)
My Motorola droid is able to run Android 4.1 - not a super snappy experience, but it does run. It released in october of 2009. Every feature in 4.1 works on it. I don't have the "fun" apple is pulling with a guessing game on what features work on what phones: http://www.apple.com/ios/feature-availability/

Also, while the 3GS (June 09) is getting ios6, the original ipad (April 2010) is not. Apple will abandon their equipment just as fast if it suits them.

Re:The Amazing iOS 6 Maps by bobwaycott on Saturday September 22, 2012 @09:15PM (#4559599)
> Also, while the 3GS (June 09) is getting ios6, the original ipad (April 2010) is not. Apple will abandon their equipment just as fast if it suits them.

Indeed. I am quite frustrated that my first-gen iPad is, for whatever reason(s), not deemed worthy enough of iOS 6.

Re:The Amazing iOS 6 Maps by hadem on Thursday September 20, 2012 @02:53PM (#4550075)
What about the people upgrading phones?
Re:The Amazing iOS 6 Maps by chmars on Thursday September 20, 2012 @02:17PM (#4549882)
As of today, I don't know of any Apple Maps alternatives in the iOS App Store. And switching a mobile platform is neither trivial nor a short-term perspective … I hope Google is busy worki on its own Maps app for iOS — for the time being, Google Maps in Mobile Safari has to do it for me.
Re:The Amazing iOS 6 Maps by DigitalJack on Thursday September 20, 2012 @02:46PM (#4550037)
There are 100s of navigation apps and almost all have maps, directions, gps integration.
Re:The Amazing iOS 6 Maps by jasonlotito on Thursday September 20, 2012 @03:00PM (#4550115)
And can be set as the default app so when I click on a location, it takes me to that location without forcing me to jump through hoops in copying the text, and then clicking over and eventually pasting it? You know, like it was in iOS5?

Awesome!

Re:The Amazing iOS 6 Maps by dholowiski on Thursday September 20, 2012 @03:30PM (#4550257)
That is not a "map" thing that's an IOS thing. If you want to change default applications, better switch to android.
Re:The Amazing iOS 6 Maps by jasonlotito on Friday September 21, 2012 @12:45PM (#4554451)
Sorry, you missed the point. Maps has changed. Rather than add a new app in called "Directions" or some such, they dramatically changed the default behavior by removing functionality people depended on. And keep in mind, Apple has a long history of having multiple applications that share the same zone of responsibility.

After 5 versions of the OS, people have what amounts to a beta application without any fallback as of yet. A major feature of the device was discarded.

Kind of hard to put trust in a company that will disregard users like that. And, to be fair, this is not new or surprising. It's one thing to do this on the hardware front. But another thing entirely to do it on the software front.

Keep in mind, this is not the first time they've done this (see the FCP debacle), and when that happened, they caved to customer demand.

So yes, it's a Maps thing.

Re:The Amazing iOS 6 Maps by kordless on Thursday September 20, 2012 @04:22PM (#4550482)
You got it.
Re:The Amazing iOS 6 Maps by headShrinker on Thursday September 20, 2012 @05:25PM (#4550803)
Wow, that was easy. I have a bridge to sell you.
Re:The Amazing iOS 6 Maps by fpgeek on Thursday September 20, 2012 @10:45PM (#4551955)
Or jailbreak, from what I understand.
Re:The Amazing iOS 6 Maps by chmars on Thursday September 20, 2012 @04:34PM (#4550539)
Do you have a single recommendation for a native Google Maps replacement?
Re:The Amazing iOS 6 Maps by speleding on Friday September 21, 2012 @05:50AM (#4553055)
just use maps.google.com in mobile safari, it works just as well as the old app.
Re:The Amazing iOS 6 Maps by lttlrck on Friday September 21, 2012 @02:58PM (#4555169)
Bing.
Re:The Amazing iOS 6 Maps by danparsonson on Thursday September 20, 2012 @02:18PM (#4549886)
Yes there are other maps programs available for iOS - the Google Maps app that comes with iOS 4 and 5 is very capable.
Re:The Amazing iOS 6 Maps by hadem on Thursday September 20, 2012 @02:51PM (#4550068)
That app has been replaced with the Apple Maps. Google maps is only available via the browser in iOS6 (at this time).
Re:The Amazing iOS 6 Maps by kamechan on Thursday September 20, 2012 @02:18PM (#4549892)
> does apple have a maps program on the android devices?

not that i'm aware of. i don't believe there to be a browser interface for their maps "solution". i could be wrong.

> are there other maps program available on the ios devices?

yes. google maps, or any other maps via the browser. sure, not the kind of integration one gets from an app. but there, nevertheless.

Re:The Amazing iOS 6 Maps by sylvinus on Thursday September 20, 2012 @02:48PM (#4550049)
iTunes is certainly going to ask people to upgrade without giving them a warning about the Maps downgrade!