Apple fires Maps manager
Apple’s Maps have run into some glitches since the application’s launch.
Apple fired Richard Williamson, the manager who oversaw its failed Maps app.
According to The New York Times, Senior Vice President for Internet Software Services at Apple Eddy Cue fired Williamson shortly before Thanksgiving. Several Apple representatives didn't respond to the paper's inquiries about the firing, and Williamson didn't respond to messages sent through his LinkedIn profile, which has him presently employed at Apple as senior director of iOS platform services.
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Cue took over last month during Apple's management shakeup and is now seeking advice from outside mapping-technology experts, reported the San Francisco Chronicle. He's also after digital maps provider TomTom to fix landmark and navigation data the company shares with Apple.
Apple's map software has been faulted for unreliable landmark searches, routes that get users lost and lack of public transit directions, according to the Daily Herald. Cue is now seeking to build a program that can compete with Google, whose maps application has been built into Apple's iPhone since its introduction in 2007. Google is also preparing to unveil rival downloadable apps for mobile Apple devices.
During October's management shakeup, Chief Executive Timothy D. Cook fired Scott Forstall, the former head of Apple's mobile software development, the Times reported. Cook then gave Cue oversight of Apple Maps and Siri.