Most of you know that Apple (News - Alert) has made its announcement about the newest version of the iOS that is designed to come out this year. The operation system, dubbed iOS 6 for those of you who have not been counting, is going to have a whole slew of new features. Some of those features include an upgraded version of the digital assistant known as Siri, a higher level of Facebook (News - Alert) integration, the ability to share pictures in what is called a Photo Stream, a Passbook to keep digital version of tickets and discount cards, instant text replies to a missed call and a change in the Maps app.

No, not an upgrade a change to the Map's app, which used to rely on the existing Google Maps system to help users get from point a to point b without much of a fuss. The new version will be a completely Apple made product. The company described it in the following terms in the iOS 6 preview site, "Beautifully designed from the ground up (and the sky down), Maps will change the way you see the world.¹ Map elements are vector based, so graphics and text are incredibly detailed — even when you zoom all the way in — and panning is smooth. Tilt and rotate to view an area, and Maps keeps the names of streets and places where they belong. Get visual and spoken turn-by-turn navigation and real-time traffic updates. Even soar over cityscapes to see the sights from the air in amazing, high-resolution quality. Learn more about Maps."

Interestingly enough it looks like some are doubting how well Apple can pull it off. One skeptical writer Nicholas Carlson over at Business Insider posted a piece talking about how many people Apple would have to hire to make the map's project work. His estimate was 7,000 workers, based solely on how many people that Google (News - Alert) uses for the task. Apparently the existing map's app staff and the OS programmers don't figure into his equation at all. He is also not accounting for the work of the more than dozen companies, including TomTom (News - Alert), that are going in with Apple on this project. And quite frankly, even if his numbers are right, that sounds to this reporter like a good thing. With a global economic downturn still wreaking havoc with the economies of many nations we need more jobs.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2012, taking place Oct. 2-5, in Austin, TX. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. For more information on registering for ITEXPO click here.

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