Apple fires head of maps unit

The company is still reeling from a series of high-profile errors in its new maps software, and reportedly wants to rebuild the team in charge.

By Kim Peterson Nov 27, 2012 4:11PM
Businessman using smartphone -- Image Source, Image Source, Getty ImagesBoy, Apple (AAPL) is still smarting over the Apple Maps debacle that resulted in a very public apology from its chief executive.

The company has fired Richard Williamson, the leader of the mapping team, Bloomberg reports. The shakeup was caused, in part, by Eddy Cue, the senior vice president who was just given managerial oversight of maps.

The Maps mistake was a rare screwup for the company, and a high-profile one as it attempts to offer a competitive alternative to the popular maps from Google (GOOG) and others. Apple said that London was in Canada, according to reports. It couldn't find Tokyo Station, one of the world's most important train stations. This Tumblr site has a great collection of forehead-smacking errors.

Apple responded to the flub by dismissing Scott Forstall, the head of its mobile software unit, last month. Forstall was known as a divisive, polarizing figure that other managers avoided, and some employees were ecstatic after he left.

Apple apparently had more housecleaning in mind. Bloomberg reports that Cue wants to install a brand new management team for the maps division, and is consulting with outside mapping experts. Employees are also working with TomTom NV (TMOAF), the digital maps company that provides mapping content, to get fixes for some of landmark and navigation errors.

Apple is also said to be aggressively stealing mapping experts away from Google in hopes of perfecting its service.

More from Money Now



Tags: AAPLGOOGTechnology
< Back to Bill Fleckenstein
User Picture
Write a comment...
24Comments
AJBr
Nov 28, 2012 5:13AM
avatar
London is in Canada between Detroit and Toronto
winedudeguy
Nov 27, 2012 11:08PM
avatar
I have had a Google Nexus 7 since July - Google maps and a couple of android apps are amazing - don't need Apple !!
Richard Ramo (CrowdedCranium)
Nov 27, 2012 8:11PM
avatar
Dismal failure merits dismissal.  Unless your a big spender POTUS.
Built2shred
Nov 27, 2012 6:39PM
avatar

Without Steve Jobs this is probably going to be the norm for Apple here on out...

 

Small updates to there existing products and lots of bugs..

 

vinceinusa
Nov 27, 2012 6:25PM
avatar
The top reason why I haven't upgraded my iPad 3rd generation from iOS 5.1 to  6.
Fatuus Secundus
Nov 27, 2012 6:13PM
avatar
Not surprising that he had to be shown the door...
meggo1288
Nov 27, 2012 6:03PM
avatar
Once you have had a droid, the iPhone seems like garbage and so sub par. I was all for it for like a month after I got my phone, until it kept crashing, stopped recognizing it's charger cords (with 2 different chargers)., and I basically realized that there was literally NOTHING special about it. I really don't get all the hype over Apple products....and I can say that now having used both the phone and the computers.
Someone (TonyMon)
Nov 27, 2012 6:00PM
avatar
Rich, the door is on your left. No, no Rich, the other left- oh Rich you've gone too far down that hallway - you know what, just stay there, we'll get someone to escort you out of the building.
Chris_80202
Nov 27, 2012 5:31PM
avatar
I recently purchased a new I-Phone 5 and had it for ten days before calling Verizon for a trade in. The phone was the worst smartphone I've ever owned, it doesn't support flash player (I realize that is somewhat antiquated but there is still ALOT of apps that run on flash), the screen is still way too small, for some reason the reception was bad (not sure if that was totally about the phone but my droid never had issues with the same provider) and if I was texting with someone that had a blackberry every other text came through with wierd symbols like $&#^^%@. Then, I tried to download music FROM MY APPLE COMPUTER and it said the software was out of date so I downloaded the newest itunes software and for whatever reason, still couldn't sync music - for the life of me I couldn't figure out what the hype was all about??? Think I'll stick with my basic IPOD for music and use other makers for the smartphone (I really liked the droid I had but I'm going to try the Samsung Galaxy now). The lady at the Verizon store said that several others who were not "raised" on I-Phones were bringing them back as well for the same reasons - go figure.
RinceWind12
Nov 27, 2012 5:24PM
avatar

The new Maps is an unmittigated disaster.

I've put in exact addresses -- sometimes including city, state, and zip -- only to have the program give me some completely random location.  Sometimes the street name will be close -- can you say autocorrect -- and sometimes it will be completely unrelated, like not even in the same state.  I don't even try to find something like a landmark or hotel anymore.  It's screwed those up way too many times.

But it sure is pretty to look at.

mike6875
Nov 27, 2012 5:21PM
avatar
Apple is also said to be aggressively stealing mapping experts away from Google
I thought apple invented that !!!
Scooter Andreasen
Nov 27, 2012 5:04PM
avatar
They fired him, but where will he go?
Jaybird54
Nov 27, 2012 4:58PM
avatar

It was not broke so you should not have fixed it.

 

Evil Chris
Nov 27, 2012 4:47PM
avatar
Ha I called for their stock price to drop back in Sept.  Like I said then their products are no longer innovative but incremental.  They have no answer to their competition, they won't suddenly collapse but trend down.  Slow grind.
morpheus282
Nov 27, 2012 4:45PM
avatar
Another epic fail:  I bought an iPad mini.  It seemed like the perfect size to me, even after Steve Jobs said consumers didn't want a ~7" screen.  So I buy one.  I get it home and mess around with it for a couple of hours and I'm fairly pleased with it. Then I hook it up to my PC in order to copy some music over that wasn't purchased via iTunes.  The iPad isn't detected.  Hmmm...  So I start troubleshooting and get nowhere.  It doesn't seem like hardware is to blame, so I Google the problem and find the answer.  It seems that according to the box iTunes 11 is required for the iPad mini to be recognized by the software.  Unfortunately, as of today - almost a month after the product launch - the latest version of iTunes is 10.7.  Some people appear to be having luck using 10.7 but none of my computers see it.  Ergo, goodbye iPad and hello Android.
Mr. Herbert (Mr. Herbert)
Nov 27, 2012 4:35PM
avatar
Support communist China, buy Iphones.
Again.Really
Nov 27, 2012 4:26PM
avatar
Day late and a dollar short, don't you think, Apple?  Why were your products so rushed to market before adequate testing was done?  More importantly, why don't you manufacture your phones here in the U.S.?
Report
Please help us to maintain a healthy and vibrant community by reporting any illegal or inappropriate behavior. If you believe a message violates theCode of Conductplease use this form to notify the moderators. They will investigate your report and take appropriate action. If necessary, they report all illegal activity to the proper authorities.
Categories
100 character limit
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?

RELATED ARTICLES

DATA PROVIDERS

Copyright © 2013 Microsoft. All rights reserved.

Quotes are real-time for NASDAQ, NYSE and AMEX. See delay times for other exchanges.

Fundamental company data and historical chart data provided by Thomson Reuters (click for restrictions). Real-time quotes provided by BATS Exchange. Real-time index quotes and delayed quotes supplied by Interactive Data Real-Time Services. Fund summary, fund performance and dividend data provided by Morningstar Inc. Analyst recommendations provided by Zacks Investment Research. StockScouter data provided by Verus Analytics. IPO data provided by Hoover's Inc. Index membership data provided by SIX Financial Information.

Japanese stock price data provided by Nomura Research Institute Ltd.; quotes delayed 20 minutes. Canadian fund data provided by CANNEX Financial Exchanges Ltd.

ABOUT BILL FLECKENSTEIN

Image: Bill Fleckenstein, MSN money

This column is a synopsis of Bill Fleckenstein's daily column on his website, FleckensteinCapital.com, which he's been writing on the Internet since 1996. Click here to find Fleckenstein's most recent articles.

RECENT QUOTES

WATCHLIST

Learn More
View full page
Symbol
Last
Change
Shares
Quotes delayed at least 15 min
Sponsored by:

MARKET UPDATE

NAMELASTCHANGE% CHANGE
There’s a problem getting this information right now. Please try again later.
NAMELASTCHANGE% CHANGE
There’s a problem getting this information right now. Please try again later.

[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks entered the weekend on a mixed note as the S&P 500 shed 0.1% while the Dow ended with a gain of 0.1%.

The major averages began the day on a lower note as nine of ten sectors saw losses of more than 0.5%.

The consumer staples sector was the lone exception as the group spent the entire day in positive territory thanks to the relative strength of Dow component Procter & Gamble (PG 81.89, +3.19). The second-largest staple stock advanced ... More


More Market News

Currencies

NAMELASTCHANGE% CHANGE
There’s a problem getting this information right now. Please try again later.
See more currencies

RECENT POSTS

VIDEO ON MSN MONEY

MSN MONEY'S

Most Popular
  • Shared
  • Commented
  • Viewed

MUST-SEE ON MSN

MSN Mobile: Go to msn.com in your phone's browser.