Google previews next major Maps update, coming to iOS this summer

By Cody Lee on May 15, 2013

You know, it wouldn’t be a Google I/O keynote without some kind of talk about Maps. Larry Page and company have made it very clear that its mapping technology is a big part of its future. And they gave us a bit of a glimpse of that future today.

Google will be releasing a big update for its Android and iOS Maps app this summer. And among several new features and updates, we’re happy to see that the software will finally be landing on the iPad. More details on the update after the fold… Read More

 

Apple patent hints at Street View-like mapping

By Ed Sutherland on Apr 5, 2013

Is Apple preparing to take another chunk out of Google’s mapping franchise? A patent filed in 2011 and entitled “3D Position Tracking for Panoramic Navigation,” discovered Thursday, suggests the iPhone maker is considering adding street level navigation to its own iOS 6 Maps technology.

By virtue of the description, the invention suggests using movement sensors built into the iPhone and iPad to make it easier for mobile users to move within virtual maps. Currently, Google’s Street View feature makes use of mouse movements and touchscreen input for navigation. A key difference between Apple Maps and Google Maps may also include the ability to navigate within structures… Read More

 

Google breaks up mapping and commerce biz

By Christian Zibreg on Mar 14, 2013

More major corporate changes happening at Google. After Andy Rubin yesterday stepped down as Android boss, The Wall Street Journal just reported (and Reuters corroborated) that the Internet giant is breaking up mapping and commerce unit, with Senior Vice President of Maps and Commerce Jeff Huber stepping aside. The two-part management shift at Google also saw some major shakeup of Google’s Android and Chrome OS teams. Google’s mapping business will be folded into the company’s search unit as part of these changes… Read More

 

Google Maps for iPhone updated with faster local search, Google Contacts integration and more

By Christian Zibreg on Mar 5, 2013

Google Tuesday morning pushed a new version of its native Google Maps application for the iPhone and iPod touch. It’s the first update since the Internet giant released a standalone Maps software for Apple’s platform in December 2012, racketing up ten million downloads in just two days and becoming the App Store’s top free iPhone app in no time. New features in Google Maps version 1.1 for iOS include integration with Google Contacts, local search icons that make finding places of interest faster and easier and more… Read More

 

Google Maps SDK for iOS updated, now available to all developers

By Cody Lee on Feb 21, 2013

When Google released its standalone Maps app for iOS back in December of last year, it also seeded an SDK to select developers. The software development kit allows developers to integrate Google’s mapping data into their apps.

Today, Google has lifted the limitation, opening up its Maps SDK to all developers. The announcement comes alongside a nice little update to the dev kit, which now features ground overlays, and other new mapping tools… Read More

 

Apple should buy social nav app Waze to improve Maps data

By Ed Sutherland on Jan 2, 2013

When it comes to apps, nothing strikes a nerve more than mapping. We saw this when Apple Maps literally and figuratively drove off a cliff, only later to be saved by Google Maps. Needless to say, having Apple’s fat pulled out of the fire by its chief rival didn’t make execs in Cupertino too happy.

That’s the backstory behind the latest mapping rumor afloat: the potential acquisition by Apple of social navigation app Waze. According to reports, Apple is in fact considering purchasing Waze.

Their iPhone app crowdsources the positions of moving cars to turn the mundane task of finding locations into a social game. Waze, already a partner with Apple Maps, has likely gained the iPhone maker’s attention when iOS 6 Maps was going down in flames… Read More

 

How to enable the hidden Topography view in Google’s Maps app

By Jeff Benjamin on Dec 26, 2012

Ryan Petrich is back at it again, this time with a new jailbreak tweak that enables a hidden Topography mode found in the recently released Google Maps app. The tweak, available via Cydia on his beta repo, adds a fourth option to the sidebar featured within Google maps to easily enable Topography.

As it turns out, the Topography Mode enabled via this tweak was already built into the Google Maps app from the get go. Why Google decided to keep the feature disabled in the public release is anyone’s guess, but if you install this tweak, you can easily enable the option.

Check out our full video demonstration inside for more details… Read More

 

Chitika: recent iOS 6 adoption spike due to China iPhone 5 launch

By Cody Lee on Dec 21, 2012

Earlier this week, a report surfaced from MoPub, a mobile ad serving platform, suggesting that the recent release of Google Maps caused a 30% spike in iOS 6 user adoption. And of course, it made sense that some folks were holding out on updating until they were sure they’d have a proper Maps app.

But what didn’t make sense was how far off MoPub’s findings were from Chitika’s. You see Chitika, another large ad network, also looked at iOS 6 user adoption after the Google Maps release, and it only saw a 0.2% bump. So why the huge discrepancy? It likely has to do with the firms’ coverage areas… Read More

 

10 tips for getting the most out of Google Maps

By Cody Lee on Dec 20, 2012

Google Maps made its triumphant return to iOS last week, and there’s no question that it’s a massive hit. It saw 10 million downloads in its first 48 hours, and it’s still the #1 free app in the App Store.

For those of you who haven’t tried Google Maps yet, or haven’t figured what all of the commotion is about, Google today published a list of 10 tips that will help you get the most out of the software… Read More

 

Walt Mossberg agrees that Google Maps is better on iPhone than on Android

By Christian Zibreg on Dec 19, 2012

Google’s new iOS Maps app is universally accepted as the best experience on any mobile platform. First Google told The New York Times columnist David Pogue that it “admits that it’s even better than Google Maps for Android phones”, which Pogue says has accommodated its evolving feature set “mainly by piling on menus”. And now, Pogue’s peer over at The Wall Street Journal, Walt Mossberg, seems to agree as he calls Google’s iPhone mapping software “better in most respects” on the iPhone than it is on Android phones, where “it looks inelegant by comparison”…

Read More

 

Surprise, Google Maps app boosts iOS 6 adoption rate

By Christian Zibreg on Dec 18, 2012

According to MoPub, which tracks over a billion ad impressions each day across over 12,000 apps and a dozen ad networks, the release of Google’s Maps iOS app last Wednesday has benefited the iPhone maker in many regards, not least of which is a healthy boost to iOS 6 adoption rates.

The firm saw a 29 increase in unique iOS 6 users in the five days after Google Maps for iOS was released and a thirteen percent increase from Monday to Wednesday.

The reason: those who held off upgrading to iOS 6 because it removed Google’s mapping software are making the jump now that the standalone Google Maps app is on the App Store… Read More

 

Google Maps for iOS saw 10 million downloads in first 2 days

By Cody Lee on Dec 17, 2012

It’s been 5 days now since Google released its highly-anticipated Maps app for iOS, and it’s still the #1 free download in the App Store. With its vector graphics and exclusive features like Street View, the app is obviously a hit.

But just how big of a hit are we talking? Well Google SVP of Commerce Jeff Huber gives us some insight on that via a post to his Google+ page. He says the Maps app saw more than 10 million downloads in the first 48 hours… Read More

 

How to get directions in Google Maps via Siri, no jailbreak required

By Cody Lee on Dec 17, 2012

After months of rumors and speculation, Google finally launched its standalone Maps app for iOS last week. And it’s been pretty popular thus far. It’s currently the top free app in the App Store, and it’s also listed first in Apple’s featured ‘Maps’ section.

The app does have some caveats though. Perhaps most notably, unlike the built-in Maps app, you can’t get directions in Google Maps via Siri. Luckily, a workaround popped up over the weekend that takes care of that. And it doesn’t require a jailbreak… Read More

 

Google Maps app could violate European data protection law

By Cody Lee on Dec 16, 2012

I read an interesting article the other day by Evan Wiener on why Apple dropped Google from Maps in iOS 6. Wiener suggested that Google was withholding features, like voice-guided navigation, as a negotiation tactic to get Apple to agree with deeper Google integration, and Apple finally said enough’s enough.

The well-connected John Gruber confirms that he’s heard a similar story from numerous sources — more specifically, that Google was wanting to collect user data for serving up targeted ads, and Apple said no. And wouldn’t you know it, it seems Google’s trying to do the same thing in its new Maps app… Read More

 

Chitika: iOS 6 adoption only rose 0.2% after Google Maps release

By Cody Lee on Dec 15, 2012

Judging from the comment sections on our Google Maps posts, and other feedback from around the web, it seems like quite a few people were holding out for a Google Maps app release before upgrading to iOS 6. And it makes sense, given some of the horror stories we’ve heard.

But according to Chitika, a large mobile ad network who regularly tracks iOS adoption rates and other mobile trends, iOS 6 adoption only rose 0.2% after Wednesday night’s debut of the Google Maps app, suggesting it had no immediate impact on the number of iOS 6 users… Read More

 

‘MapsOpener’ makes Google Maps the default Maps app on iOS

By Jeff Benjamin on Dec 14, 2012

Google Maps is back on iOS, but there’s just one problem — Apple’s stock maps app still remains default, so all of your maps links will open in Apple’s version instead of Google’s.

Thankfully, we knew it was only a matter of time before a jailbreak solution appeared to skirt around this issue. That solution is called MapsOpener — a brand new jailbreak tweak that forces maps links to open up in Google Maps… Read More

 

Has Google just won the iOS maps war?

By Ed Sutherland on Dec 14, 2012

While most people consider the return of Google Maps to Apple’s App Store an all-around positive, one observer sees the move as a ‘mixed blessing’ for club Cupertino. Not only is the familiar mapping application once again available, but the Android maker Google may now overshadow Apple’s own efforts to make a difference in the increasingly competitive mobile mapping arena. As we reported yesterday, the new Google Maps for iOS is the top free app for the iPhone.

Indeed, Google admits the iOS app – which adds turn-by-turn directions – is superior to the Android version from a design standpoint. But for Google, returning to iOS means it also reconnects with iPhone users and a wealth of data… Read More

 

Maybe Apple got what it wanted with Google Maps

By Cody Lee on Dec 13, 2012

There’s been a lot of talk over the past few months about the reasons behind Apple’s decision to kick Google Maps out of iOS 6. Everyone has their opinions, but it seems like the biggest factor was Google’s unwillingness to bring voice-guided turn-by-turn directions, among other features, to the pre-installed app.

Fast-forward to last night, when Google Maps returned to the iPhone in the form of a standalone App Store app. It has the same beloved features like Street View and transit directions, but it now has voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation, and fast-loading vector graphics. Maybe Apple got what it wanted…. Read More

 

Google Maps becomes the App Store’s top free iPhone app

By Christian Zibreg on Dec 13, 2012

Google released its native Maps iOS app last night and, perhaps predictably, already the much-expected software has surged to become the top free iPhone app on the App Store. This just goes to illustrate that competition is a good thing and how eager people have been to have that native mapping experience from Google on their iPhones.

The program features a sleek interface and features missing from Apple’s in-house offering, namely the excellent Street View and public transit directions, in addition to a number of the usual features ranging from Zagat restaurant reviews and turn-by-turn navigation, local Google search and more… Read More

 

Google admits Google Maps for iOS is better than Android version

By Cody Lee on Dec 13, 2012

As most of you have probably heard by now, the official Google Maps app finally hit iOS last night after several months of speculation. It’s fast, looks great, and the general consensus seems to be that Google really hit a home run.

New York Times’ columnist David Pogue certainly seems to like it, and he had a few interesting things to say about it in his review. The well-connected writer says that Google admits the iPhone app is even better than the Android version, and an iPad version is on the way… Read More

 
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