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Apple points the way to rival map apps in App Store

Apple has further admitted defeat over the maps calamity by highlighting rivals' apps.

Joe Svetlik Reporter
Joe has been writing about consumer tech for nearly seven years now, but his liking for all things shiny goes back to the Gameboy he received aged eight (and that he still plays on at family gatherings, much to the annoyance of his parents). His pride and joy is an Infocus projector, whose 80-inch picture elevates movie nights to a whole new level.
Joe Svetlik
2 min read

And so the grovelling continues. Not content with issuing a frank apology (or 'mapology', as one wag put it) over its Maps imbroglio, Apple has launched a new category in the App Store. Can you guess what it is? That's right, maps.

"Find maps for your iPad" is the name Apple's given it, CNET reports. And unsurprisingly it lets you do just that, with alternatives offered including Bing Get Me There, Navigon Europe, and Garmin UK & Ireland.

They range from the free Waze social GPS Traffic & Gas, to a nuts £59.99 for Navigon Europe. Six are on offer for us Brits for the iPad. Punters in the US have a separate section for the iPhone, while us limeys will have to make do with going to the Categories menu bar and clicking Navigation. All six in the iPad category will also work with your Apple handset too though.

Of course, you can always head to the Google Maps or Nokia websites and create an icon on your iPhone, as Tim Cook suggested in his open letter to disgruntled Apple fans. The site will then open like an app.

It's all been a bit embarrassing for Apple, this whole Maps palaver. Tim Cook's apology stated he and the rest of the company "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. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better."

Apparently the problem was that Apple wanted to bung in a load of new features like turn-by-turn directions, voice integration, and Flyover, but in order to do so it had to make a whole new version of Maps from the ground up.

Cook made no mention of the fallout with Google that led to Apple dropping Google Maps in the first place.

How has Apple handled the whole situation? Let me know what you reckon in the comments below, or on our Facebook page.