Consumer Reports, the influential reviewers’ group that blasted the iPhone 4 for a faulty antenna, on Friday gave Apple Inc’s latest smartphone a thumbs-up despite echoing widespread complaints about its patchy mapping service.
In a review for Reuters, Edwin Chan wrote:
The organization, which in 2010 withheld its recommendation for the iPhone because of spotty reception when the gadget was held in a certain way, said laboratory tests confirmed that the new iPhone 5 ranked among the best smartphones but its mapping function clearly fell short.
Apple’s latest iPhone, sporting a larger 4-inch screen and 4G capability, drew scathing reviews for glaring errors in a new, self-designed mapping service. Chief Executive Tim Cook apologized last week and directed users to rival services run by Google Inc and others.
“Despite the widespread criticism it has received, Apple’s new Maps app… is competent enough, even if it falls short of what’s available for free on many other phones,” reviewer Mike Gikas wrote on the group’s website on Friday.
“As Apple has recently apologized and promised to fix these and other map glitches, we expect the Map app to improve in time,” he wrote
And Mike Gikas went on to say:
“Now that our auto experts have completed their tests, including some carried out some days after the launch, they describe the app as relatively streamlined, and concluded that it generally provides clear guidance, including voice and on-screen directions,” Gikas wrote.
So, it is not all bad news from Apple. Having said that, I am hearing rumours that there may details about a camera problem emerging… more on that soon.
