Google working on 3-D-enabled maps app for iPhone, for early next year
Skift Take
Apple's own map app has been widely ridiculed, so Google has some goodwill and nostalgia flowing its way. It should double down on efforts to launch the iPhone/iPAd app.
Post Apple iOS 6 booting, Google is developing a maps application for iPhone and iPad that it is seeking to finish by the end of the year…One reason for the delay: it expected the app with Google’s maps to remain on the iPhone for some time, based on the contract between the two companies, and was caught off guard when Apple decided to build a new application to replace the old one.
Also, Google would likely prefer to release a maps app that includes 3-D imagery so it is comparable to Apple’s. But Google has 3-D images in Google Earth, which is a separate app with a separate code base from Google Maps, so it would take some time to combine the two.
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