Apple Maps Deceives Australian Commuters As New Update Adds to the Confusion

After news spread that Apple's Map App led several Australian motorists astray, stranded without food and water, the company hurried to roll out an update to amend its location tag error. The result? iOS devices now display the correct location of the city of Mildura, but have not removed the incorrect pin which guided iPhone owners into the Murray Sunset National Park, according to Digital Trends.

"Police are extremely concerned as there is no water supply within the Park and temperatures can reach as high as 46 degrees, making this a potentially life threatening issue," says Victoria Police Senior Sergeant Sharon Darcy. "Some of the motorists located by police have been stranded for up to 24 hours without food or water and have walked long distances through dangerous terrain to get phone reception."

The app's offending error originally set commuters 70km off course from Mildura.

Apple's answer to Google Maps elicited such a negative response during the iPhone 5's launch that CEO Tim Cook formally apologized for the undercook app. "With the launch of our New Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment," Cook said in a statement. "We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better."

Cook encouraged iOS 6 users to explore other alternatives in the mean time, noting: "While we're improving Maps, you can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon your home screen to their web app."