Apple Apologises For iPhone 5 Map App Defects

Apple has said sorry to its customers for defects in its new iPhone 5 Maps app which was launched last week.

Apple made the apology after a wave of criticism over botched searches and errors on the new maps tool.

It was panned by users for putting towns and cities in the wrong place and misspelling locations.

In a statement, Apple CEO Tim Cook said: "At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers. 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."

Apple said it had to create a new version of Maps from the ground up to include the latest features such as turn-by-turn directions and voice integration.

But customers complained that it was not a patch on the Google Maps app it replaced. For example on one map of Sweden, Gothenburg, the country's second largest city, seemed to have disappeared.

Despite the software failures, Mr Cook said 100 million iOS devices were using the latest Maps app and in over a week users had already searched for nearly half a billion locations.