Using iOS 6 Apple Maps "Report A Problem" Feature

As I'm sure you'll be aware Apple are experiencing a few problems with their brand new Apple Maps application for iOS 6 (see here for CEO Tim Cooks' public apology). One of the features of the new Maps application is a "Report A Problem" link, you can use this to report issues to Apple for them to fix - clearly they'll have a lot to do.

Here's how to report an issue;

• First of all go to the location in Apple Maps which shows the problem you'd like to report;

• Then click on the bottom-right "page" bit to see the settings;

• Just above the "Print" button in *very* faint type (makes you wonder if they intended people to spot it doesn't it?!) there is a "Report a Problem" link. Click on this.

• Now you pick the type of issue you want to report. Here's a tip; if you want your issue dealt with quickly (and that's a relative term!) don't select "My problem isn't listed" - I don't know what black hone that vanishes into but don't expect anyone to get back to you soon! For the sake of this example I'm going to pick "Location is missing" (as it is!);

• At the top of the screen it says "Drag the pin to the correct location". Do that and then when you're done click "Next" at the top right;

• Now you can enter as much details as you can for the item you're reporting as being missing. I'm reporting "Bar Hill Tesco" and I've picked the details of their website (I've even included the link so Apple can check it). Then click "Next";

• Now, after you're spent all that time typing stuff in, it tells you that the map information and problem you've entered will be reported to Apple if you click "OK". You could just click "Cancel" if you want to have wasted your time.

Apple Maps Comes To Bar Hill!

As I'm sure you're aware Apple have updated their iOS devices (iPad, iPhone, iPod) with iOS 6 which replaces the existing Google Maps with *new* Apple Maps which includes Turn-By-Turn navigation as well as a 3D view.

Sadly the new Maps application is not quite up to the standard of Google Maps (in much the same way as an ant is not quite up to the height of a giraffe).

Looking at Bar Hill Tesco is a good example of where this has not quite worked ... The map at the right shows Tesco Car Park with access both to Gladeside and Viking Way (neither of which exists), and a surprising loop in the car park.

If nothing else pondering these anomalies with give the people trapped in the one-way system that the Petrol Station has suddenly turned into something to think about!

There are numerous other issues; "Long Stanton Road" as an example of a typo (should be "Longstanton Road"), and half the businesses are missing including Tesco, the Parish Council Officers, the Church, etc.

I have reported several of these, but fixing everything is going to be a *huge* job and is way beyond anything that Apple have planned - Google Maps after all didn't get anywhere near as good as it is now overnight! It's just a shame this half-finished product is being forced onto people in it's current state. 

So what should Apple do? (let's just pretend they are taking advice from random bloggers!) I've mentioned before in various blogs the open-source mapping information provided by www.openstreetmap.org seems to be a viable alternative. For example;

OpenStreetMap.org - Bar Hill, Cambridgeshire

I'd suggest to Apple that rather than trying to build their own mapping database - which will take years - or buying one of the not-as-good-as-Google mapping companies out there to get access to their data why not work with OpenStreetMap and provide some funding for the project and use open source mapping data? Give it all away free and people will help you build it.

Anyway, here's hoping they do something soon!