Google Maps Is Back On iOS6, Apple Is Relieved

You won't be lost anymore, iPhone users.

The app should be rolling out worldwide in the App Store now, available in over 40 countries and 29 languages. It's compatible with iOS 5.1 and above, but sadly it's not designed to work on the iPad. Google says that will come later. Graf also said that the goal is to maintain a parity between iOS and Android going forward — which hopefully means that a few Android-specific features will come to iOS and that the clean design of this app will make its way back to Android.

Compared to Apple's Maps app, Google Maps clearly wins on the data front, with complete mass transit directions and fewer of the accuracy issues that have plagued the built-in app. What's more intriguing is that Google Maps also matches (or beats, depending on your taste) Apple Maps in its speed, design, and overall aesthetics. It's the combination of massive and accurate data with a well-made app that makes Google's offering so compelling.

Google Maps for iOS is the best-designed maps app on any platform and challenges even Google Maps on Android for speed. That sounds like hyperbole, but on the iPhone 5 the new Google Maps app seems faster and is definitely better-designed than even Google Maps on Android. If Apple CEO Tim Cook is looking for examples of how to do a maps app right on the iPhone — or on any platform — Google has provided the answer.

By Dieter Bohn
photo credit, the verge
video credit, the verge

Move Over Google Maps, Amazon Maps Is (Almost) Here

If Amazon has its way, Google Maps on your Kindle Fire won't be the default option for much longer. Back in September, the online retail giant introduced a beta version of its Amazon Maps API to see if it could go the Apple route by fleshing out its own maps platform. Now it's ready to take the API out of beta after several months of testing and a lot of developer interest -- Hipmunk, Evernote, Trulia and Zillow have already integrated it into their Kindle Fire apps. 

The API currently features interactive maps and customized overlays, and is now a part of the Amazon Mobile App SDK. It's early days yet for the mapping service and we're sure it doesn't have the bells and whistles of the one from Mountain View, but this does mean a further step toward differentiation from the Big "G."

Let's just hope this turns out better than iOS6 Maps and no one comes to regret it.

By Nicole Lee, engadget.com