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"Apple&amp;#039;s chief executive Tim Cook has issued an almost unprecedented apology to the firm&amp;#039;s iOS device customers over the &amp;quot;frustration&amp;quot; caused by the move to Apple&amp;#039;s own Maps application.  The launch of iOS 6 on September 19 introduced Apple&amp;#039;s own Maps app as a replacement for Google Maps as the pre-installed service on newer iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch.    However, the service was widely derided by users, including accusations that it was misleading, inaccurate and even missed out entire towns. Various images were also posted on the web showing the poor quality of Apple maps compared to Google&amp;#039;s service.  In a letter to customers issued today, Cook said that he was &amp;quot;extremely sorry&amp;quot; for iOS maps, which he admitted &amp;quot;fell short&amp;quot; of Apple&amp;#039;s commitment to make world-class products.  &amp;#039;&amp;quot;At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers. With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment,&amp;quot; he wrote in the letter.  &amp;quot;We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better.&amp;quot; Apple launched the Maps app in part to get a Google-made service off its own iOS mobile operating system. But the firm was also understood to be concerned that Google was favouring its own Android mobile OS with a better Google Maps service, including turn-by-turn navigation.   Apple Maps features turn-by-turn, along with 3D flyovers, but the service has fallen down on Apple&amp;#039;s lack of deep mapping data compared to Google, which has provided mapping services since 2005.  Such an apology from an Apple chief executive is a pretty rare thing. The last one occurred when the late Steve Jobs held a special press conference in 2010 to apologise for the &amp;#039;antennagate&amp;#039; reception controversy that dogged the iPhone 4.  In his letter today, Cook repeated a previous Apple statement that Maps in iOS will get better the more people use it. But he also took the unprecedented step of suggesting that the still disgruntled users should try alternative services in the mean time, including Google Maps and Nokia Maps.  &amp;quot;We launched Maps initially with the first version of iOS. As time progressed, we wanted to provide our customers with even better Maps including features such as turn-by-turn directions, voice integration, Flyover and vector-based maps. In order to do this, we had to create a new version of Maps from the ground up,&amp;quot; he explained.  &amp;quot;There are already more than 100 million iOS devices using the new Apple Maps, with more and more joining us every day. In just over a week, iOS users with the new Maps have already searched for nearly half a billion locations. The more our customers use our Maps the better it will get and we greatly appreciate all of the feedback we have received from you.&amp;quot;  But he added: &amp;quot;While we&amp;#039;re improving Maps, you can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app. &amp;quot;Everything we do at Apple is aimed at making our products the best in the world. We know that you expect that from us, and we will keep working non-stop until Maps lives up to the same incredibly high standard.&amp;quot; Google Maps is still available on iOS 6 devices via the web browser and a shortcut can also be tagged to the homescreen.  The search giant is thought to be working on an iOS app for Google Maps, although its executive chairman Eric Schmidt recently said that the firm was &amp;#039;no further down the line&amp;#039; with that. &amp;gt; Apple iPhone 5 review &amp;gt; Apple iOS 6 mobile software upgrade - review iPhone 5 gallery:  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tech/apple/news/a408987/apple-boss-tim-cook-apologises-for-ios-maps-fiasco/>