Even if getting lost is your kind of adventure, a good set of maps is indispensable when you are ready to get back to civilization. Unfortunately, even in the dense wi-fi regions of the Bay Area, a hike in the woods will mean leaving cellular coverage meaning apps like Google Maps become nearly useless.

Some drivers have resorted to maintaining paper maps for these special excursions, but that’s about to change thanks to Rand McNally’s  new eBook. The mapmaker is celebrating its 90th birthday with a great eBook (also as an iPad app) that gives you access to maps without a data connection. Unlike the original hand painted format (1924) that only showed paved roads, the updated version has various road types and terrain information for all 50 states with detailed maps of larger metropolitan areas and national parks. If you happen to wander north to Canada or South to Mexico, that’s also on there. Happy travels!

Google’s explorers have added some of the world’s coldest peaks to its virtual street views. The mapmakers at Google just added “Aconcagua (South America), Kilimanjaro (Africa), Mount Elbrus (Europe) and Everest Base Camp (Asia)” to its virtual tour.

The climbing teams spent 18 months documenting 3D views from the top of the world. Due to the extreme circumstances, these photos were just taken with a lightweight tripod and fisheye camera instead of the typical 40 pounds Google Trekker Backpack used for trips to the Grand Canyon and Lucas Oil Stadium. The team did not limit their photos to the mountains – images of nearby monasteries and bazars were also collected. Read more

Last Friday Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, formally apologized for Apple’s mistake in releasing Apple Maps before it was ready.

This is a topic we have covered several times at AppNewser, including one expert’s take on how it happened, but today I have a new explanation.

In the following video, the Apple Maps team leader explains how the strange map results aren’t incorrect; they’re just from alternate universes. Apple’s new Q6 quantum CPU sometimes gets data from other universes, including wibbly-wobbly world, water world, and more. Read more

When Apple makes a mistake, they like to do it in style.

When iOS6 was released to users last week everyone quickly noticed that Apple Maps, the ill-advised replacement for Google Maps, couldn’t navigate its way out of a paper bag. The new service has given any number of bad directions, and what’s more, it is in dire need of a visual QA check, with some map segments looking squashed or supplied by Salvador Dali.

But it turns out that Apple Maps isn’t the only serious issue with iOS6. Read more

Apple clearly wanted to make a mark in the Maps service industry when they released the new iOS6 this week, only it turns out their mark is a little fizzy and may have been misplaced somewhere in the middle of the Bering Strait.

And according to Dr. Mike Dobson, an expert in cartography, it’s no surprise that this happened.

Dr. Dobson is the owner of local search, mapping consulting company TeleMapics, and yesterday he posted a critique of Apple’s mistakes. Dr. Dobson had been watching the news coverage on this issue and he’s identified a number of blunders ranging from poor quality data sources, a lack of sufficient staffing, and a general lack of competence in this niche. Read more