Opinion: Without Steve Jobs is Apple JATPC?
Apple Maps reveals the chink in Apple's armor. Is it the first nail in the company's coffin?
I just cancelled my order for an iPhone 5. Why? Because, it’s becoming clear that, without Steve Jobs, Apple is turning into JATPC, “Just Another Tech Products Company."
I base that judgment on only one thing, Apple’s new Maps app in iOS 6. Jobs never would have let such an abomination leave Apple headquarters. And, it makes me wonder what other hardware and software surprises are lurking in the iPhone 5 and iOS 6. So, I cancelled the order and I wish I could revert my iPhone 4S and iPad 3 to iOS 5.
Apple Maps Alleged 3D Satellite Images.
What’s Wrong with Apple Maps?
Well, you’ve probably seen a lot of the criticism already. One of my biggest gripes is about the alleged 3D satellite images. Not sure how the 3D quality is created, but I don’t think it has much to do with reality. The front of the building I live in certainly doesn’t look like it does in Apple Maps.
In fact everything looks like a kind of poor, cartoonish attempt to render the original satellite images in 3D. And, two-fingered changing perspective on the images is clunky with the change being very limited, leaving most buildings looking like pancakes when viewed as close to head-on as possible in the app.
Then there are things like what the Los Angeles Times called “an apocalyptic depiction of the Manhattan end of the Brooklyn Bridge”. And, did Apple think we’d not notice the absence of the cool 180 degree ground-level images of almost every street in Google Maps?
I have always liked iOS devices over Android devices mainly because you can upgrade the OS without buying a new device and iPhone and iPad touch sensitivity is much better than on Android phones and tablets. I use devices running both OSes – iPhone 4S and iPad 3 just upgraded to iOS 6 , and recently acquired Android 4.0 (Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1) and 4.1 (Google Nexus 7) tablets. I use the Android devices almost exclusively for content consumption and the iOS devices for content consumption and, because I can precisely locate the cursor with my finger, for content creation.
Up until now, it was a no-brainer when it came time to buy a new iOS device. I’m an early adopter and, while I don’t feel the need to stand in line on day one, I’m still online ordering the latest on the first or second day. So, true to form, I ordered my iPhone 5 the day after online ordering opened.
When I first noted that I’d have to wait two-to-three weeks for delivery, I was a bit pissed at the wait. However, after struggling with Apple Maps, pissed became pleased, because the delay gave me the opportunity to get out of my order. And, I did. I want to see how things go with both the iPhone 5 and apps.
There are rumors that Google is going to submit Google Maps as an iOS app. If Apple lets the app fly or quickly improves Apple Maps, the way it tried to solve the iPhone 4’s Wi-Fi antenna problem that even Steve missed, maybe I’ll reorder an iPhone 5.
Some will say I am overreacting to a minor problem with one app in iOS 6. Perhaps that’s true.
However, I’ve been in the tech business for a long time and I’ve gotten pretty good at seeing trends pretty early on. Having studied Steve Jobs management style closely, it’s clear that his painfully detailed, but highly successful approach to the creation of new products is what brought Apple out of near bankruptcy and into a position as the number one tech company both in terms of products and sales. That sort of hard headed, but passionately creative aesthetically minded style is rare and I’m thinking right now that Apple is on the verge of joining has-been companies like Microsoft and Intel that long ago lost their spark.