ABSTRACT
The release of AM generated instant ridicule in cyberspace, negative comments in mainstream media, critical reviews by pundits, and a downgrade of Apple prospects by financial analysts (CNN, 2012a,b). There were a vast number of errors in the names and locations of features, but the most prominently reported errors involved public facilities, such as train stations, bridges, airports, subway entrances, parks, and zoos. These were either placed in the wrong location or misnamed. This was largely due to Yelp data being focused on rating commercial POI data (i.e., restaurants, dentists) and Tom Tom data being originally intended for a vehicle navigation system and hence mostly oriented toward linear features (i.e., streets) that vehicles could drive on. When Apple users compared AM with GM and Microsoft’s Bing Maps (BM), AM generally came in last in accuracy. The navigation feature, which was basically Tom Tom data and algorithms, was in many places inferior to competing vehicle navigation systems from Garmin using Navteq data (Navteq, 2013). Of course it did allow users to use a smartphone to replace a navigation system which was convenient.
