Australian police warn against using Apple Maps application
- 10 December, 2012 15:01
- Comments
Australian police are warning people not to rely on Apple's new mobile mapping application after several motorists trying to find Mildura, Victoria, (denoted by the purple pin) ended up in a semi-arid national park (denoted by the red pin).
Australian police are warning people not to rely on Apple's new mobile mapping application after several motorists ended up in a semi-arid national park where temperatures can reach 46C and there is no water supply.
Police in the town of Mildura, Victoria, issued a news release on Monday saying they've responded to several drivers who became stranded in Murray Sunset National Park.
Apple's Maps application, introduced in iOS 6, shows Mildura near part of the park when it is actually located about 70 km to the northeast, according to police. Some motorists have been stranded for a day without food or water, walking long distances through dangerous terrain to get phone reception, police said.
Police, who called the problem a "potentially life-threatening issue," said they have contacted Apple and advised that people use other mapping programs until Apple's program is fixed.
Apple replaced Google's mapping application, which it had shipped with iPhones through the 4S model, with the company's own application in iOS 6, which was released on Sept. 19. Users have complained that Apple Maps wasn't accurate and contained errors.
Apple on Monday referred to CEO Tim Cook's apology on Sept. 28 in which he said the company was "extremely sorry" for bungling Maps. Cook said the application would improve with time as users reported problems. Until then, he advised users could use Microsoft's Bing, Google Maps or Nokia's Waze.
Send news tips and comments to jeremy_kirk@idg.com. Follow me on Twitter: @jeremy_kirk
Recommended
Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.
- Bookmark this page
- Share this article
- Got more on this story? Email CIO
- Follow CIO on twitter
-
Larry Page wants to see your medical records
-
Dual-Persona Smartphones Not a BYOD Panacea
-
After two-year hiatus, EFF accepts bitcoin donations again
-
CIOs struggle to deliver timely mobile business apps: survey
-
Spiceworks' free management software gets integrated MDM
-
Customer Success - Slater & Gordon Lawyers
Lawyers work hard, and they work fast. Any activity that takes their focus away from the task at hand represents lost productivity and lost revenue. Slater & Gordon Lawyers needed to filter spam and email-borne malware and provide high availability for email. Results from the business solution they chose include 250 hours of IT staff time reclaimed annually for other tasks, long delays in email delivery alleviated, reduced email-related storage costs, and email failover to the cloud in minutes, avoiding hours-long outages. Find out how they got these results. -
In Control at Layer 2: A Tectonic Shift in Network Security
Network hacking and corporate espionage are on the rise and set to intensify. Information security risks remain commonplace, and most organisations need to increase vigilance. This paper has analyses the realistic threats to fibre optic Ethernet networks – both at the LAN and WAN level. Read now. -
Unleashing the Power of Information
If business-relevant information is not well managed, secured and analysed, it can become an underutilized asset or—worst case—a legal and competitive liability. Nearly all of the IT and business executives who responded to a recent survey recognise this risk, and say they understand the importance of having an enterprise information management (EIM) strategy. Find out more on how to reduce costs, improve competitiveness and avoid risk by making information management an enterprisewide strategic priority.
Get exclusive access to Invitation only events CIO, reports & analysis. 
