[telecom] Apple Maps: Damned If You Do, Googled If You Don't

Apple Maps: Damned If You Do, Googled If You Don't

Monday Note September 23, 2012 Edited by Jean-Louis Gassée

While still a teenager, my youngest daughter was determined to take on the role of used car salesperson when we sold our old Chevy Tahoe. Her approach was impeccable: Before letting the prospective buyer so much as touch the car, she gave him a tour of its defects, the dent in the rear left fender, the slight tear in the passenger seat, the fussy rear window control. Only then did she lift the hood to reveal the pristine engine bay. She knew the old rule: Don't let the customer discover the defects.

Pointing out the limitations of your product is a sign of strength, not weakness. I can't fathom why Apple execs keep ignoring this simple prescription for a healthy relationship with their customers. Instead, we get tiresome boasting: ?Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world?we [make] the best products on earth. This self-promotion violates another rule: Don't go around telling everyone how good you are in the, uhm?kitchen; let those who have experienced your cookmanship do the bragging for you.

The ridicule that Apple has suffered following the introduction of the Maps application in iOS 6 is largely self-inflicted. The demo was flawless, 2D and 3D maps, turn-by-turn navigation, spectacular flyovers?but not a word from the stage about the app's limitations, no self-deprecating wink, no admission that iOS Maps is an infant that needs to learn to crawl before walking, running, and ultimately lapping the frontrunner, Google Maps. Instead, we're told that Apple's Maps may be "the most beautiful, powerful mapping service ever."

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