Google Outs 3D Maps For iOS Ahead of Apple

hypnosec writes "Apple announced during WWDC 2012 that it is going to ditch Google maps and bring out its own under iOS 6. So, Google started working and in fact raced ahead of Apple in providing 3D maps for iOS. Through a blog post, Google announced that it has now made 3D imagery available on its Google Earth for iOS app. Users of iPhone 4S, iPad 2 or new iPad, while using Google Earth for iOS app, will feel that they are virtually flying over cities.The feature, as of now, works only for 12 regions. Cities for which the 3D imagery is provided are from US with an expectation of a city in Rome. The U.S. cities include: Boulder, Colo., Boston, Charlotte, N.C., Lawrence, Kan., Long Beach, Calif., Los Angeles, Portland, Ore., San Diego, Santa Cruz, Calif., Tampa, Fla., Tucson, Ariz., and San Francisco, plus its East Bay and Peninsula neighbors, notes the blog post."

Re:Do I need a geography lesson that bad?

[spauldo]

It contains itself, as well as Vatacan City, so 2?

Re:Google trying to save face, except it won't wor

[Chuck Chunder]

They could have at least kept feature parity with Android, but the fact that iOS Maps app was neglected for years only made Apple react more strongly.

As I understand it the iOS Maps app was neglected by Apple, not Google.

It seems likely that Apple always intended to replace the backend service with their own and one might argue that "neglecting" the app was a good move in that regard. By keeping their users (which includes me) on technology that is probably 5+ years old it gives them a chance of replacing it without users complaining too much about feature regression.

Google's move hardly "reeks of desperation". Since when has Google done anything other than try and offer the best experience they can on any device?

Re:Google trying to save face, except it won't wor

[Chuck Chunder]

That's a joke, right?

No, Google just care about eyeballs and will work to get them.
They will write Exchange plugins to work with Gmail.
They will buy Exchange related technology to get Gmail to work 'properly' with iOS mail.
They will do what it takes to get a user, whatever platform the user may be on (for reasonably popular platforms of course).

Re:Google trying to save face, except it won't wor

[R3d M3rcury]

If Apple wanted to make a maps app similar to the one on android that uses vector graphics and so on, they could have, but they didn't.

In Apple's defense, from Google Maps' Terms of Use [google.com]:

2. Restrictions on Use. Unless you have received prior written authorization from Google (or, as applicable, from the provider of particular Content), you must not: [...]
(f) use the Service or Content with any products, systems, or applications for or in connection with (i) real time navigation or route guidance, including but not limited to turn-by-turn route guidance that is synchronized to the position of a user's sensor-enabled device

So the question is, did Apple try to get prior written authorization and Google declined their request? Or did they just say, "We'll get our map data from somewhere else because we don't like Google anymore."

In Google's defense, they license some of their data from elsewhere and they may be restricted as to what they can allow others to do. For example, looking at Japan [google.com], down in the lower right of the screen we see "Map Data © 2012 Google, ZENRIN" Zenrin [zenrin.co.jp] is a company that Google uses, I assume, for some Japanese map data. They can use the data for their purposes, but they cannot sublicense that data for other purposes. If Apple wanted to use that data the same way as Google via Google's Maps API, they'd have to also license the data from Zenrin.

A quick jaunt around the world will show you that Google has licensed map data from lots of different companies: GeoBasis, TeleAtlas, AfriGIS, MapLink, Mapcity, Inav/Geosistemas, INEGI, and I'm sure some others I have missed. Apple could run around and try to sign similar licenses with all those companies to use Google's map data, or they could just find someone else.

Re:Google trying to save face, except it won't wor

[Anonymous Coward]

And yes, it was Apple that did not provide you turn-by-turn navigation.

Google did not allow Apple's maps to include turn-by-turn navigation, their license forbade it.

That's fair enough — Google dictates the terms of use for their data. But Apple had to build their own system to get around this restriction (or license from elsewhere).

Re:Lawrence Kansas?

[Geirzinho]

Here you go:

https://encrypted.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=google+earth+for+linux&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CJABEBYwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fearth.google.com%2Fdownload-earth.html&ei=Ey8SUOvFLKWC4gTgw4GgCA&usg=AFQjCNHtn4NvUOUoKADPf8ZRNSfED_pErQ&sig2=JNYJ97i-H8p5KMdCEixRHA [google.com]