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Google Backpedals On Turn-By-Turn GPS For iPhone

Posted by timothy on from the unforeseen-circumstances dept.

Smurf writes "Last October Google's Vic Gundotra announced that Google would bring turn-by-turn GPS navigation to the iPhone: 'However, Google is working with Apple on bringing it to the iPhone, and it's not ruling out licensing the software to makers of portable navigation devices used in cars throughout the world, said Gundotra, vice president of engineering at Google for mobile and developers.' Nevertheless, after such plans were confirmed during a press conference in London yesterday, today the 'Don't be Evil' company backpedaled on them: '"We did not say we would bring it to iPhone, we said to date we've had it on Android and that in the future it may come to other platforms, but did not confirm this will be coming to iPhone at all," a Google spokesperson told PCWorld.'"

5 of 145 comments (clear)

  1. Why would they? by Threni · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Apple is suing Googles allies, and is a rival to the Android platform. Why would Google want to help them by giving people a reason to stay locked into the iPhone when they can just get an Android phone instead? What does Google gain from people using its free apps on other platforms?

  2. Doesn't that get old? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Don't be evil company did this. Don't be evil company did that.

    It's like you are trying to force a contrast between Google and not-evil. Sorry if they're not the knight in shining armor from the land of dreams, but they're still a long way ahead of the competition.

  3. Google should be evil by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Make turn by turn for the iPhone, but make it so that it directs users to drive off cliffs. Imagine the look on their faces when they realize what just happened!

  4. Could you understand the evil part? by Ilgaz · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Don't be evil company did this. Don't be evil company did that."

    I am one of the crazy people on Slashdot to question Google's "don't be evil" motto ending up -1 several times along with tinfoil hat jokes but I really fail to understand what kind of "evil" to reject sparing time and huge amount of money for a possibly rejected application.

    Google really did good for mobile this time, at least some people from Apple will figure some companies doesn't like to be treated like a potential virus author and porn distributor.

  5. Re:I suspect... by jmichaelg · · Score: 5, Informative

    Android has always been a predominantly Java platform and that's been known since day one.

    True.

    iPhone has never, ever, supported Java in any form (since Javascript is not Java as you point out) and that's also been known since day one.

    True.

    Nothing has changed besides a growing animosity between the companies.

    False. Apple just decreed that any app written for the iPhone must be written in C, Objective-C or C++. Google has tools that translate Java into JavaScript that runs correctly on any platform. Translating Java to Objective C or C++ isn't a stretch. Apple's *new* policy disallows Google from doing that.

    How anyone who isn't an Apple employee can defend that policy eludes me.