Apple CEO: "We are extremely sorry" for Maps frustration

In a rare public apology, Apple CEO Tim Cook on Friday wrote an open letter to customers that acknowledged widespread complaints about the company's new maps application.

"At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers," Cook wrote. "With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better."

After using Google's mapping data for five years, Apple  went in a new direction with the iOS 6 update to its mobile operating system, which rolled out to millions of iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch devices on Sept. 19. The new Apple Maps is also built into all iPhone 5s, which went on sale a week ago.

Apple Maps is powered by significantly less data than its predecessor. Google's enormous database of geographical points has been replaced by Yelp's far less substantial list, as well as Apple's own compiled "places of interest" database. In other words, good luck searching for your favorite off-the-beaten-path restaurant if it's not on Yelp. Spelling variations also seem to trip up the new Maps app.

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Beyond search, iPhone users have already found some giant goofs in Apple's data. The info on some well-known landmarks is comically off target or woefully incomplete.

The tech giant partnered with TomTom, Waze, Yelp  and others to create its own map, complete with turn-by-turn navigation, voice integration and a cool new 3D "Flyover" feature. In his letter of apology, Cook noted that Apple "had to create a new version of Maps from the ground up" in order to offer these new features. It has been widely reported that Google, which includes most of those features in its Android smartphone software, refused to hand those features over to Apple.

Apple has preached patience in its earlier comments about Maps. Cook reiterated that, noting that "the more our customers use our Maps the better it will get." He said more than 100 million Apple devices are using the new Maps, and customers have used the app to search for nearly 500 million locations so far. Apple engineers will continue "working non-stop" until Maps reaches the "high standard" Apple customers have grown to expect from the company, he said.

Long queues greet iPhone 5 in Sydney, Tokyo

Apple Inc's iPhone 5 hit stores around the globe on Friday, giving the consumer giant a boost ahead of the crucial end-of-year holiday season as rival Samsung Electronics Co stepped up its legal challenge over key technologies.

The new phone - which was unveiled last week - went on sale first in Australia, where long lines formed for the opening of the California company's Sydney store at 8 a.m. local time (2200 GMT, Thursday).

Apple has booked more than 2 million pre-orders for the device in the first 24 hours, double the first-day sales of the previous iPhone 4S.

But South Korea's Samsung moved to crash the party on the eve of the phone's debut, saying it planned to add the new device to existing patent lawsuits against its US rival.

Samsung and Apple are locked in patent battle in 10 countries and the stakes are high as the two vie for top spot in the booming smartphone market.

Both companies are also raising marketing spending to promote their latest products ahead of the holiday sales quarter.

LONG QUEUES
An estimated 600 people queued around the block from the Apple store in central Sydney and customers were limited to buying a maximum of two phones. In a rainy Tokyo, the lines stretched back several blocks.

Guerrilla marketers grabbed the first dozen or so spots in the queue in Sydney, with companies paying staff members to line up for several days in the hope of being photographed and interviewed for being among the first in the world to get their hands on the new devices.

At the head of the queue was Todd Foot, who lined up with colleagues - all wearing clothing branded with their price comparison website logo - for three days. Staff from an online buyer and seller of used Apple products roamed the long lines offering free coffees.

But most of those waiting were aficionados already hooked on Apple's earlier iPhones and best-selling iPad tablet computers.

"I feel like if I leave it at home, I go a bit crazy," James Vohradsky, a 20-year-old student said of his current iPhone. "I have to drive back and get it. I can't do my normal day without it," said Vohradsky, who had queued for 17 hours with his younger sister.

Some analysts expect Apple to sell up to 10 million iPhone 5 models in the remaining days of September and JP Morgan estimates the phone release could provide a $3.2 billion boost to the US economy in the fourth quarter.

In Japan, where the line outside the Tokyo Apple store stretched for several blocks, one of the two carriers selling the iPhone 5 said it was concerned the US company does not have enough production capacity to meet demand.

Softbank president and founder, Masayoshi Son, said demand for the iPhone 5 was greater than the first iPhone. KDDI Corp, the other Japanese carrier offering the iPhone, said that it had already run out of the iPhone 5.

The new phone has a larger, 4-inch screen and is slimmer and far lighter than the previous model. The iPhone 5 supports faster 4G mobile networks and also comes with a number of software updates, including Apple's new in-house maps feature.

MAPS MISS MARK

The new maps feature, however has been criticized by some users for a number of geographical errors, missing information and a lack of features.

Kim Tudo, a student at the University of New South Wales who queued overnight, said he was disappointed the turn-by-turn navigation feature under the iOS 6 mobile operating system behind the new phone is not immediately available in Australia.

Vohradsky said the lack of mobile payment chip was also "a bit of a letdown". Apple did not embed Near Field Communication (NFC) technology used to turn cellphones into mobile wallets into the iPhone 5.

Tudo and Vohradsky were less bothered by Apple's decision to drop the wide dock connector used in the company's gadgets for the best part of a decade in favour of a smaller one, a move that some critics have noted adds to costs for users who will now have to buy an adaptor for speakers or other accessories.

The iPhone is Apple's highest-margin product and accounts for half of its annual revenue. Apple has said it will make initial deliveries of the iPhone 5 on Friday in the United States and most of the major European markets, such as France, Germany and Britain. The phone then goes on sale on September 28 in 22 other countries.

Apple plans to sell the new phone in 100 countries by the end of the year.

Influential reviewer Walt Mossberg labelled it the best smartphone on the market but criticized the mapping application.

The latest iPhone comes as competition in the smartphone market has reached a fever pitch with Apple up against phones that run on Google Inc's Android software. Android has become the most-used mobile operating system in the world, while Samsung has taken the lead in smartphone sales.

Samsung released new ads mocking Apple fans queuing for the new iPhone, showing users favourably comparing the features of Samsung's top-selling Galaxy S3 smartphone.