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Google Outs 3D Maps For iOS Ahead of Apple

Posted by samzenpus on from the me-first dept.

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."

6 of 197 comments (clear)

  1. Fanboy Article? by Belial6 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This article reeks of fanboyism. Why would we think that Google didn't start working on 3D maps until Apple announced it? Why isn't this pointing out that Apple is crapping on their customers by trying to sell them a new phone just to run software that should run just fine on the iPhone 1? And why would they think that Google only now found out about Apple's mapping plans? Apple said they were working on maps when we found out that Apple tracks users. They said that the reason they would continue to track users was to collect data for creating mapping software.

    1. Re:Fanboy Article? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Interesting

      Speaking of fanboyisn, you just talked about apple tracking users and didn't mention how google is far worse in that regard, even lobbying congress to protect their right to do it.

  2. Re:Google trying to save face, except it won't wor by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    You do know that Apple is the author of the IOS maps app? They just use google data. 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. Blame them. Google couldn't have written an improved maps app, because it would have been rejected as being too similar to the IOS app. Google was in a no win situation.

  3. Re:Google trying to save face, except it won't wor by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Google was able to provide turn-by-turn directions for years (and did for Android). Rumor has it that Apple wouldn't let them release it for iOS even though Google offered to do it for free. Speculation at the time was that Apple didn't want maps to be too good so that when Apple released its own maps later it'd seem like an upgrade. That seems to be exactly how it played out.

  4. Re:Lawrence Kansas? by mickmel · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It's where Brian McClendon (he co-founded Keyhole, which became Google Earth) grew up. In fact, if you load up Google Earth on your home computer and simply zoom in ([Page Up] or [+]), you'll land in the Lawrence-based apartment complex where he was raised.

  5. Re:Google trying to save face, except it won't wor by Swampash · · Score: 2, Interesting

    "Since when has Google done anything other than try and offer the best experience they can on any device?"

    That's a joke, right?