Apple Gets Its First Major-League Chink

 
The fiercest tech rivalry on the planet is nearing the boiling point of iron.
When releasing Apple’s I-phone version number 5, saying the top brass made a boo boo is like saying water is wet. Apple removed Google maps and replaced it with Apple maps. Responses ranged from mild irritation to outright anger. Apple broke one of its cardinal rules set in stone by Steve Jobs: it’s always about the customer.
Jobs knew Apple customers expected the best possible experience. Period. Most customers didn’t know where the best applications came from and they didn’t care. They wanted simplicity and effectiveness. Instead, Apple played petty business politics by eliminating one of the most popular and user friendly applications ever designed.
Rather than admit a mistake, Apple defended the move and told customers a new and improved Apple maps app was on its way. Not good. The ill will toward Apple spread like a cold in an overstuffed daycare. Just days later, the company issued an apology. (Apple fans usually gasp at this point).
It finally happened. Apple took its first major league chink in its armor.
In the meantime, the people at Google layed low and enjoyed hearing Apple customers demanding Google software.
And now comes the 50-pound bag of salt to stuff in Apple’s injury. Google is testing its newest maps application with focus groups and will release its new and improved Google maps designed for special use with the I-phone 5 within months. Among the many improvements, the ability to fly via 3D video to your queried address and take a buzz around the Statue of Liberty should you care to. Of great importance: it’s easier than ever to use and more accurate than ever.
As is the case with any submitted application, Apple has to offer its seal of approval. They are damned if they do and double damned if they don’t. Apple’s brass and engineers will be tasting the bitterness of high tech defeat. So be on the look out for Google’s new map app made especially for the I-5 phone and I-pad, but don’t expect it before January 5, 2013. Apple cried uncle, but it’s not going to give Google a Merry Christmas or a Happy New Year.
Full disclosure: the author lives in Chicago, but enjoys driving the streets of Ft. Lauderdale with his Apples maps. If only the sunshine and temperatures came with it. Now that would be the app of the millennium.