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Google Maps for iOS now available

Google today released a dedicated Google Maps for iPhone and iPod Touch, three months after Apple opted to go native and remove Google's software from its platform.
Written by Liau Yun Qing, Contributor

Google has released the Google Maps app for Apple's iPhone and iPod devices, three months after Apple replaced the former's mapping service with its native map app.

Google Maps on iPhone
Google Maps on iPhone (Credit: Google)

 

In a blog post Wednesday, Daniel Graf, director of Google Maps for mobile, said the app is now available in Apple App Store for iPhone and the 4th generation iPod Touch with iOS 5.1 and higher. The app is available in more than 40 countries and 29 languages, including Chinese and Japanese, he added.

"People around the world have been asking for Google Maps on iPhone. Starting today, we're pleased to announce that Google Maps is here--rolling out across the world in the Apple App Store. It’s designed from the ground up to combine the comprehensiveness and accuracy of Google Maps with an interface that makes finding what you're looking for faster and easier," Graf wrote.

The search giant has also released the Google Maps SDK so developers can include Google Maps when developing their iOS apps, he said.

Apple replaced Google Maps with Apple Maps as the default app when it released the iOS 6, in part to decrease its reliance on Google.

However, Apple Maps was not well-received as some maps lacked the details and accuracy previously found in Google Maps. As a result, Cupertino increased its efforts to recruit developers to improve the software and CEO Tim Cook even issued an apology to consumers for the half-baked initial effort.

It was also reported that former Apple senior vice-president for iOS software, Scott Forstall, subsequently left the company for refusing to apologize for the Maps debacle.

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