In the days after iOS 6 arrived, many people began to complain of poor performance from the Apple Maps service, comparing it unfavorably to the Google Maps service which it replaced.

As well as geographical inaccuracies and issues with a lack of detail, Apple has subsequently been criticized for including detailed images of secret or sensitive government and military installations across the world which are usually redacted by Google and its rival mapping services.

500 million searches have already been made using the Apple Maps app, although it is now being suggested that just four per cent of iOS 6 users are actually accessing it on a daily basis.

Back when Google Maps was Apple`s choice for native navigation and location based services, it is thought that 25 per cent of iPhone owners used it every single day of the week at least once.

Mr Cook said that Apple was working hard to remedy all of the issues that have been highlighted over the past few weeks. He even pointed out a number of third party apps that could be used as alternatives to Apple Maps for the time being, including MapQuest and Waze.

Mr Cook said that customers could use their iPhones to access Google Maps via the Safari web browser and pointed out that Nokia also has a similarly equipped online mapping service.

It seems that Apple is being put in a difficult position because it not only made its proprietary software the standard for mapping in iOS 6, but also completely removed Google Maps support so that there is no app for users to turn to when their main option fails to deliver the goods.

Whether or not iOS 6 will eventually be fully reunited with a Google Maps app or not remains to be seen, but hopefully the apology from Mr Cook will be taken to heart by Apple customers and help them endure while an update for the Apple Maps app is created.

Back in 2010 you may remember that the launch of the iPhone 4 was marred by the news that the phone had antenna issues when held in a particular fashion, resulting in dropped calls and much fun-poking by Apple`s rivals.

This year other companies, including the Google-owned Motorola, have already released adverts in which they satirize the reports surrounding the Apple Maps app.

Interestingly it seems that the problems with the mapping have not dissuaded people from picking up the iPhone 5, because it was reported that 5 million units were sold in the first three days following its international release.

Since cheap phones can now provide impressive navigation and mapping, Apple really needs to step up and fix its own service or else face annoying its loyal customers.

Following the release of the iPhone 5 and iOS 6 last month, the Facebook Messenger app has now been updated in order to keep in step with the latest changes to Apple`s flagship device and software platform.

In terms of interface, Facebook Messenger can now offer a side-swipe gesture which lets you look at who else is online and available to chat at any given time.

The app will please people who have upgraded to the iPhone 5 because it now fully supports the 640×1136 widescreen resolution that is afforded by the larger four inch display found on this new model.

The Facebook Messenger app has received a number of other tweaks, including the ability to order your friends list according to who you talk to the most. This means that your favorites can sit at the top of the list, rather than residing further down which might require a lot of scrolling finger work each time you want to get in touch.

To make the app look more closely related to the iOS platform, the text from contacts taking part in a conversation now appears in little stylised speech bubbles, so it resembles the kind of aesthetic which has defined the iPhone`s SMS capabilities for some time.

The Facebook Messenger app is still free to download and use, provided you have Wi-Fi connectivity or a decent data allowance on your iPhone.

When it comes to Wi-Fi, some iOS users may have been encountering issues since upgrading to version 6 of Apple`s mobile operating system.

CNET reports that a number of forum posts have popped up on Apple`s support page, with people complaining that since they downloaded the iOS 6 update to their devices they have had trouble either connecting to Wi-Fi hotspots or maintaining decent speeds once they are hooked up to one.

Other connectivity issues have been highlighted, with iPad owners stating that AirPlay is no longer working as well as it once did, or indeed functioning at all in some cases after iOS 6 has been installed.

Any Apple customer who has encountered problems should not panic, because you are not alone and the company will already be developing fixes to help overcome issues.

It is always worth remembering that each new iteration of iOS is going to have a few bugs early on, no matter how well it has been tested, which is why subsequent updates are generally required.

Even the best smartphones can be struck down by a software issue, but overall it is good to see Apple continuing to support its older devices with iOS 6 updates and also to see third party apps getting updated to work with this new platform.

The new iPad remains one of the most popular tablet devices on the planet, easily outpacing its rivals in terms of sales not only due to the reputation of its brand but also because of the experience that it offers.

The first secret to the success of the new iPad is in its 9.7 inch Retina Display. Whilst previous iPads featured screens of the same size, the pixel count has been doubled here to provide a resolution of 2048×1536.

For those keeping score, that gives the new iPad more onscreen detail than all 1080p full HD TVs that sit in living rooms across the world and because this is compressed onto a screen that is much smaller, it means that there is so much detail that your eye cannot distinguish the difference between one pixel and the next, for a truly natural viewing experience.

Of course a great display is nothing without the right hardware to back it up and deliver excellent content to it, which is why the dual core A5X processor and GPU solution within the new iPad is a boon. You get significantly improved graphics capabilities thanks to the PowerVR chip, which means that Apple sees the iPad as easily competing with Android-based quad core tablets in terms of performance when running intensively visual-oriented tasks such as playing games or processing video.

The five megapixel iSight camera on the rear of the iPad is another of its major features, because if you watch any sporting event or go to any major gig or gathering you will doubtlessly see someone holding aloft an iPad to capture video or take photographs. The first two generations of the iPad were a little lacking in this department, but with full HD 1080p video capture and a better sensor resolution the new iPad is a more appealing companion for photography fans.

In terms of connectivity the new iPad kicks things up a notch thanks to its use of LTE networking in areas where this is available. Of course there are more basic models with Wi-Fi only which makes them more affordable, but for people who require constant connectivity at high speeds the new iPad provides them with an excellent platform for this.

There is not really any secret as to why the iPad 3 is such a good tablet, because it showcases everything it has upfront and is so popular that there are few potential buyers who will not already have experienced its capabilities at the controls of a friend`s device.

The most obvious new feature of the iPhone 5 is its display, which measures four inches across the diagonal and has a resolution of 640×1136. This gives it the same pixel density as the 3.5 inch Retina Display that was found onboard the iPhone 4 and 4S models, although it clearly has a larger surface area and a new 16:9 aspect ratio, which allows for an additional row of icons to appear on the homescreen, amongst other things.

The style of the device is very similar to that of the phones that Apple has launched over the last two years, which means you get a chassis fashioned from alloy and glass with rounded edges and excellent build quality. It is thinner than the iPhone 4 and 4S and is also lighter, tipping the scales at just 118 grammes, despite the increase in its display size.

In terms of processing power the iPhone 5 uses a new A6 processor which has two physical cores and is reported to be clocked at 1GHz, although talking about things such as CPU speed is not as relevant when discussing an Apple device, because it always chooses to opt for efficiency rather than all out brute force.

The iPhone 5 is claimed to offer double the processing and graphics power of its predecessor the 4S, which is attested to by the number of videogame demos that Apple used during its launch presentation. In addition the larger display means that games look better than ever on the phone.

On the rear is an eight megapixel camera which is actually a little smaller in physical terms than its predecessor, but equipped with better processing capabilities to help it deliver quality snaps. On the front is a new 1.2 megapixel camera which can be used to record 720p video and also harness FaceTime for video calls.

The iPhone 5 is the first Apple handset to feature an integrated LTE antenna, which means that it will be able to connect to mobile data services at a theoretical maximum of 100Mbps, although in practice this will vary, as with any wireless signal.

This is good news for those who live in areas with LTE coverage, because it means that high speed connectivity is not only available on Android-based devices.

Some are disappointed by the fact that the iPhone 5 lacks NFC (near field communication) capabilities, which have become increasingly important over the past 12 months. However, this is hardly going to hamper its sales as it offers a suitable evolution over what came before it and it is, after all, another iPhone.

The iPhone 5 represents a very important launch for Apple, since it is necessary to drive the range forwards. Although it is not as revolutionary as the first iPhone was when it hit in 2007, it definitely has the potential to achieve great things.

It’s brilliant, in every sense of the word.

Pick up the new iPad and suddenly, it’s clear. You’re actually touching your photos, reading a book, playing the piano. Nothing comes between you and what you love. To make that hands-on experience even better, we made the fundamental elements of iPad better — the display, the camera, the wireless connection. All of which makes the new, capable of so much more than you ever imagined.

Retina Display. See everything like never before. Four times more pixels than iPad 2. Razor-sharp text. Richer colors. The Retina display transforms the entire iPad experience. So everything looks and feels incredibly lifelike and perfectly detailed.

Breakthrough technology. For a breakthrough display.

In order to create a display with four times the pixels, we had to design it in a completely new way. You see, every pixel in a display has multiple signals telling it when to light up. But when you have a lot of pixels and a lot of signals on the same plane, signals get crossed and image quality suffers. To make sure everything on the new iPad looks crystal clear, Apple engineers elevated the pixels onto a different plane — separating them from the signals. It’s technology that’s breakthrough. Just like the new iPad itself.

Pixel-perfect performance.
The A5X chip with quad-core graphics drives four times the pixels of iPad 2 yet it delivers the same smoothness and fluidity iPad is known for. Even with all that extra oomph, the new iPad still gets an amazing 10 hours of battery life.

I can not wait for the personal reviews to see how well it really performs. Just heard that in the last 3 days over 3 million sold. That is pretty impressive…