In China, individuals who have an iPhone could
lose their dream job
to someone who doesn't openly carry a smartphone. In Australia,
the penalty could be far worse -- death. According to the
BBC
, police officers in Mildura, Victoria are
warning
drivers to avoid using the new mapping application included with
iOS 6.
Officers first became concerned after a number of iPhone users
received inaccurate directions to Mildura. Police tested the Maps
app and found that motorists were being sent to the middle of the
Murray Sunset National Park. The park -- which can reach
temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit -- has no water supply
and is more than 40 miles away from Mildura. Police referred to
it as a "potentially life-threatening issue."
"Some of the motorists located by police have been stranded
for up to 24 hours without food or water and have walked long
distances through dangerous terrain to get phone reception,"
Mildura police said in a statement. Officers have alerted Apple
(NASDAQ:
AAPL
) of the issue. Until the problems have been resolved, they
recommend that motorists avoid using the Maps app.
This is a huge blow to Apple, which has endured a
cornucopia of complaints
ever since it released its first mapping application. The
problems have been so severe that Apple CEO Tim Cook
publicly apologized
for the mess. Scott Forstall, the former VP of iOS, was
reportedly fired
over the matter.
Thus far, these issues have not had a
negative impact
on iPhone 5 sales. However, they have hurt Apple's value as a
company. The Mac maker has lost nearly 24 percent of its value
since the iPhone 5 was released on September 21. Comparatively,
Apple gained more than eight percent in the three months after
the iPhone 4 was released (June 24, 2010 to September 24, 2010).
The company performed even better in the three months after the
iPhone 3GS arrived (June 19, 2009 to September 18, 2009), rising
more than 32 percent.
Apple did not perform as well when the iPhone 4S was released.
From October 14, 2011 (the day the device arrived at retail) to
January 13, 2012, Apple declined by a half percentage point.
This is yet another sign of the growing demands from
investors. It is no longer enough for Apple to sell
millions of units
upon release. The company must now achieve universal acclaim for
new applications that ship with each device.
While the iPhone 3GS and the iPhone 4 were met with critical
acclaim, Siri (which accompanied the iPhone 4S) was largely
criticized for providing
weak and inaccurate responses
. That did not stop Apple from promoting its voice-activated
software in every commercial for the iPhone 4S. This strategy
proved to be
very successful
.
Update:
Temperatures within Murray Sunset National Park can rise to 46
degrees Celsius (114.8 degrees Fahrenheit), as detailed on
Victoria Police's
official website
. This story has been updated to clarify this point.
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