Google releases Maps app for iPhone

PanARMENIAN.Net - Google has released a native version of its Maps app for the iPhone, BBC News reports.

It follows Apple's switch to its own map software which stopped Google powering the handset's default app.

The move was widely criticized after numerous mistakes were found in Apple Maps's search results. Google's new iPhone app introduces some functionality previously restricted to Android devices. One analyst said it would prove popular, but added that Nokia still posed a challenge. The Finnish company recently launched its own free maps app for the iPhone.

The firms are motivated in part by a desire to gather data automatically generated by handsets using their respective software, as well as users' own feedback.

This allows them to fine-tune their services and improve the accuracy of features such as traffic status updates.

Features Google has introduced that were not available in its earlier iPhone app include: Voice guided turn-by-turn directions, with estimated travel times; Indoor panoramic images of buildings that have signed up to its Street View Business Photos service; 3D representations of the outlines of buildings that can be viewed from different angles; Vector-based graphics based on mathematical lines and points rather than pre-created bitmap graphics, making it quicker to zoom in and out of an area.

Among the facilities Google's iPhone app lacks that are present in its Android equivalent are indoor maps, the ability to download maps for offline viewing, and voice search.

One area Apple's own software still has an edge is its integration of Flyover which offers interactive photo-realistic views of selected cities using 3D-rendered graphics within its maps app.

Google offers a similar facility via Google Earth which is promoted in its main maps app, but involves switching into a separate program.

However, for many users the key feature will be the level of accuracy that Google offers.