Apple is TOO proprietary, IMO. However, it is because of their hardware-specific programming that their products work so well.
That being said, they’re “pulling a Microsoft” by denying the world’s largest online cartographer on their own phones. I understand their reason for doing it: promotion of a competitor’s product, but the simple fact that their own product failed so miserably AND so many people in the world have come to rely on Google maps for wayfinding, it makes more sense for them to just suck it up and drop support for their own dreadful app while standing by their third-party app support model: don’t blame us if it doesn’t work!
I don't care for Apple because of this. But, I don't care for Google because of its insatiable appetite to track every thought and action a person has ever considered - including breaking into their WiFi network from their specially equipped vans that are taking pictures of every thing in sight - harvesting all of the personal information they can get their little Orwellian sniffer on (passwords, private emails, contact lists, programs installed, IP and MAC addresses)...
Then again, Gmail is good enough for our CIA Director - so what do I know?
Apple ping
Failure? What, the iOS6 maps are great, way better than google.
Apple maps suck. So do their iPhones for Bluetooth and voice commands. Neither work. We switched to Android phones this past month. The Bluetooth works perfectly and so does the voice commands. Motorola RAZR M phones. They work far better than the Apple iPone 4 trash that we had.
If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.
Granted, some people reported “issues” with iOS 6 and finding destinations with the Apple maps. I do not dispute this, if they say that they had a problem, I believe them.
However, I live in the US, in a fairly low population state, with sporadic population areas (Utah) - I have not noticed the issues that everyone else is reporting. Wont’ say that there isn’t a problem, but I will say that these “Problems” haven’t affected me in the slightest. I actually prefer using the Apple maps to the old Google maps.
Why would I have a preference? Because the Apple maps use Vectored maps areas - as I zoom into them, I don’t need to “reload” new tiles - the street names appear when there is room for them to appear. Compared to Google, every pinch is a new download - which is inconvenient when you are navigating to a destination, and don’t know how close you are to a landmark. With poor service in my area (hello, AT&T) - the Apple vector mapping solution is a quite superior experience compared to the constant re-downloading you get with Google maps.