Apple and Google have been conducting their little (okay, not so little) cold war for years. A lot of the fighting has happened in executive boardrooms and courtrooms, with consumers not seeing the fallout. It looks like that’s going to change with the release of iOS 6. Rumor has it that the iOS 6 version of the Maps app will drop Google Maps in favor of the technology Apple has been buying up. Here are the details from AllThingsD:
Between 2009 and 2011, Apple acquired three mapping companies in quick succession: Placebase, in 2009; 3-D mapping outfit Poly9 in 2010; and in 2011, C3 Technologies, a second 3-D mapping company. Three mapping-company acquisitions in as many years. But for good reason: Apple has been hard at work developing its own in-house mapping solution for iOS, and now it’s finally ready to debut it.
Sources describe the new Maps app as a forthcoming tentpole feature of iOS that will, in the words of one, “blow your head off.” I’m not quite sure what that means, and the source in question declined to elaborate, but it’s likely a reference to the photorealistic 3-D mapping tech Apple acquired when it purchased C3 Technologies. C3 did use missile-targeting technology to develop its gorgeous 3-D models of major cities, so …
Apple has been taking steps to ween itself off of Google’s numerous products. It was interesting to see Siri use Wolfram Alpha instead of a Google-based solution. Watching the company move away from Google Maps is another telling step. It looks like Baidu will be the default search engine for iOS devices sold in China. Can you imagine a day when Apple uses a non-Google search engine as the default choice for the rest of the world?
What do you make of Apple apparently ditching Google Maps on iOS? Do you think Apple’s new Maps app will blow your head off? What does that even mean?!?
I found out today that I'm eligible for an upgrade. The dude was REALLY trying to sell me on the new HTC, but I relented.
I want to see if a new iPhone is coming out this year or not and what's up with it first. I can hang with my current iPhone until then.
The One X is pretty hot. Next iPhone should be September.
I reaally can't say that i will have my head blown away until I try it. But I really get annoyed that google maps doesn't refresh fast enough to give me current traffic updates.
Hmm. We'll wait and see. My garmin has lifetime map updates and does pretty well. I also bought the Darth Vader voice for it. Hard to leave that!
Honestly the Nokia maps really impresses me. So that said, i'm not sure ditching Google maps will be a dip in q quality.
Nokia has a few Ovi services that are surprisingly good.