Apple iOS 6 Maps warning from Australian police

At http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/9734121/Apple-iOS-6-Maps-warning-from-Australian-police.html

Australian police have warned against using Apple's iOS 6 Maps after having to rescue six people in two months who became lost while trying to find Mildura in Victoria.

The actual location of Mildura (purple pin) is more than 40 miles from where Apple places it (red pin). 

By Shane Richmond, Head of Technology (Editorial)

10:10AM GMT 10 Dec 2012

Instead of directing people to Mildura, Apple Maps sent them to a wilderness more than 40 miles away. With temperatures in the area reaching up to 46C, Victoria police are concerned that lives could be at risk.

In a warning on its website, Victoria police said: "Some of the motorists located by police have been stranded for up to 24 hours without food or water and have walked long distances through dangerous terrain to get phone reception."

Police said they had contacted Apple about the issue. Police said: "Anyone travelling to Mildura or other locations within Victoria should rely on other forms of mapping until this matter is rectified."

Apple released its new Maps application earlier this year with iOS 6, the latest update to the operating system that runs the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. The new operating system dropped Google Maps, which had been on the iPhone since its launch in 2007, and replaced them with a mapping service created by Apple.

Errors and omissions were soon noted by users around the world, who pointed out landmarks that appeared in the sea, railway stations that were missing entirely and towns, like Mildura, that were plotted miles from their real location.

Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive, was forced to issue an apology, saying that the company had fallen short on its commitment to "deliver the best experience possible to our customers".

Cook's apology added: "While we'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."

Apple encouraged users to report problems with Maps and revised the layout of the application to make the 'report a problem' feature more prominent.

At the end of October Apple announced that Scott Forstall, the executive responsible for iOS software, including Maps, would be leaving the company in 2013.

Nokia recently launched its own maps application for iOS devices, called Nokia Here, while... ( more at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/9734121/Apple-iOS-6-Maps-warning-from-Australian-police.html )