Hard core Apple loyalists will have to wait a while
for Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL) to fix its messed up mapping application.
A report in Technology Review says that it would take
a long while for Apple to get up to speed and produce an application that is on
par with that of Google Maps.
According to Technology Review - Apple’s current
strategy of relying upon users to report mistakes simply cannot match the scale
of the problems seen within the application.
It noted that “the millions of errant labels on points
of interest like businesses… require new data sources and easier ways to
contribute fixes, as well as enough willing map-fixers in geographically
dispersed regions.”
Technology Review spoke to a wide range of mapping
experts to arrive at its observations and conclusions.
Google has a vast army of about 7000 engineers who
work on its mapping program and a lot of investments in terms of people and
research and development go into the company's navigational aids.
It quoted Michael Dobson, the president of mapping
consultancy TeleMapics - Apple won’t be able to fix all of these issues in a
timely fashion unless it’s willing to significantly beef up its mapping staff
and to invest in resources such a fleet of cars dedicated solely to mapping.
“Google has found a way to integrate active
crowdsourcing on a level that Apple has not yet attempted,” Dobson told
Technology Review. “I don’t believe Apple has more than a couple of hundred
people working on this at this point… Apple may attempt it, but they certainly
don’t have any system that allows this kind of wholesale crowdsourcing.”
not necessarily. Millions of errant points can be simply a glitch on the positioning algorithm. If this is the case, once correct, all points appear on the correct place.
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