Reports that Google has entered a bidding war with Facebook over the social-mapping service Waze may be just a gambit by the company to force a better deal, but there are compelling reasons why Google should make a bid. Read more »
Researchers have developed a new app and hardware module that will help you find the direction of gunfire. Read more »
Telenav’s latest iPhone update has some nifty new collaboration features, including the ability to notify friends and family or your ETA and for multiple users to converge on the same location. Read more »
Google’s mapping and local search data is making its way into more connected car platforms. Automakers aren’t quite ready to let us download Google Maps directly into our dashboards, but they’re definitely leaning more heavily on the search giant to power their nav systems. Read more »
Nokia’s latest version of its Drive software aims to emulate a full-feature embedded vehicle navigation systems, which leads me to wonder if Nokia has plans to get into the connected car market with a bring-your-own-maps strategy. Read more »
Bad directions and misdentified locations are usually just inconvenient or annoying; they don’t usually lead to life-threatening scenarios. But police patrolling a remote national park in Australia are finding otherwise. The department recommends not using Apple Maps in the area. Read more »
The company announced several other updates to the Google Maps for Android API on Monday, including vector-based maps, better 2D and 3D maps, as well as indoor mapping. Read more »
Eddy Cue took over responsibility for Maps last month when Apple announced SVP of iOS Software Scott Forstall would be leaving the company. Cue has been known as Apple’s “fixer” and has been charged with getting the Maps program into working shape after a disastrous debut. Read more »
Apple’s own Maps app has been heavily criticized, and Google does not yet have a Maps app for iOS ready, so Nokia’s timing in offering an alternative on the iOS platform is good as it tries to build up its user base. Read more »
One of the hallmarks of 2011′s OS X upgrade was how many iOS features showed up: iMessage, Notes, Reminders, Notifications, Game Center, Twitter integration, AirPlay mirroring. In that light, why wouldn’t Siri and Maps be next on the list? Read more »
Though the free app isn’t released just yet, Nokia’s mapping app called Here could make Apple’s own Maps look behind the times. Here will be available online and offline. And more importantly for urban dwellers or those without cars, it will have public transit directions. Read more »
Google might be getting antsy about getting its mapping app for iOS approved by Apple. Monday anonymous sources at the company said they’re pessimistic that Apple will approve a competing Google Maps app. But that goes against what the company’s chairman has been saying. Read more »
There’s been plenty of anecdotal evidence already offered that Maps needs work — at times location data is missing or directions were wrong. But on more than one occasion Maps have led users astray because of the user-sourced business information that Apple is using from Yelp. Read more »
The scope of the task before Apple’s internet services division is especially obvious this week. In the midst of news that SVP Eddy Cue would be assuming responsibility for Siri and Maps, the iCloud service he oversees experienced its third outage in a week. Read more »
Crowd-sourced mapping and navigation app Waze is getting a lot more social by allowing people to share their location, request rides and see which friends are navigating to the same place. The service is now up to 29 million users. Read more »
Here’s our daily pick of stories about Apple from around the web that you shouldn’t miss. Today’s installment: Apple’s biggest supplier admits breaking China’s underage hiring law, profile of a maps app that’s taking advantage of Apple’s failure, and teardowns of the Lightning connector and iPod nano. Read more »
Google’s chairman is very confident that Apple would approve a Google Maps app for iOS. He didn’t explain why he’s so sure that Apple would “have to.” Historically, Apple has not automatically approved all Google apps for iOS. Read more »
Here’s our daily pick of stories about Apple from around the web that you shouldn’t miss. Today’s installment: Apple Maps a little too accurate in some cases, Apple’s response to iPhone 5 purple haze, a new consortium for advancing HTML5, iPhone 5 expansion and more. Read more »
Spectrum and coverage maps show us exactly where the new ‘T-Metro’ will deliver on the promised 4G capacity. The gains in many key markets are impressive, but adding Metro’s assets won’t be a spectrum panacea for T-Mobile. Read more »
Here’s our daily pick of stories about Apple from around the web that you shouldn’t miss. Today’s installment: Retail employees asked to help correct Apple’s mapping data, will a future iPhone have NFC?, Oracle embraces the iPad, why Apple is building a smaller tablet, and more. Read more »
Last week Snappli, a data compression app, found that among 5,000 of its iOS users, many quickly began using Apple Maps only to see 1 in 25 such users keep using it. Some questioned the data and today Snappli explains the methodology it used. Read more »
Apple’s most important product this year, the new iPhone 5, continues to draw lines of buyers. The device went on sale for the first time in 22 new countries Friday morning, just as Apple’s CEO was apologizing for releasing a disappointing Maps app. Read more »
Google is working on a new Maps app for iOS 6, but there are a couple of things that have held up development, according to the New York Times. Google claims it was surprised by Apple’s move away from its maps app. Read more »
Here’s our daily pick of stories about Apple from around the web that you shouldn’t miss. Today’s installment: Apple is targeting Google Maps developers for help with its maps app, iPhone 5 stock, games could be harder to find in iOS 6 App Store, and more. Read more »
TomTom, one of the companies supplying mapping information for Apple’s Maps app, defends the quality of its data. There’s been much mockery of the new Maps app since iOS 6 arrived Wednesday, and TomTom suggests that Apple’s integration of its data is the problem. Read more »
While some may be surprised by the seeming lack of quality control over the new Maps app from Apple, this situation is something of a tradition when the company rolls out a new service. Apple still isn’t as good at services as it is at hardware. Read more »
According to The Guardian, Google has already begun working on a Google Maps app for iOS 6, and it “will appear in time” on Apple’s App Store. But when? Apple new Maps app is attracting a ton of criticism and has seriously disappointed new iOS 6 users. Read more »
iOS 6 has some great features but the maps are not one. Thankfully there are good alternatives available right in Apple’s own App Store for detailed directions and points of interest. Also a bonus tip: how to turn an old iPhone 3GS into a standalone GPS. Read more »
It looks like Apple’s new Maps app needed more time and development before it was pushed live. The general consensus is that while the maps look better and have welcome additions that weren’t included with Google Maps, there are still some key features missing. Read more »
Ford is joining Chevy in offering a smartphone-based navigation app that integrates with its connected car platform. TeleNav’s new Scout for Sync AppLink doesn’t have all of the features or a full-bore nav system, but it could fundamentally change the in-vehicle mapping game. Read more »
Indoor-positioning-startup Wifarer has landed its first customer, the Royal BC Museum, in Victoria, Canada. Wifarer and the BC, however, aren’t just slinging location-triggered coupons. The museum is using Wifarer technology to create an object-aware virtual guide to its exhibits. Read more »
Apple’s new Maps app has its pros and cons. But it’s also becoming apparent that the normally conservative company has opened itself up to some significant potential risks by taking on the responsibility of creating and maintaining a mapping solution. Here’s a roundup of potential problems. Read more »
It’s important to note with beta software that it’s unreleased for a reason. While iOS 6 is still in the early beta, it’s not too early to answer the question: How does turn-by-turn navigation in Maps for iOS 6 work? I tested out the new app. Read more »
Besides iPhone users, it’s the engineers behind the thousands of third-party iOS apps that are faced with navigating the switch from Google Maps to Apple’s new maps app in iOS 6. But the reaction from developers is that Apple has made the change easy on them. Read more »
There were dozens of new iOS 6 features announced at WWDC, but for me the most interesting things are the little, sometimes-overlooked updates that have the biggest impact. Here are four things Apple is doing in iOS 6 that I’m most excited about. Read more »
Google isn’t doing itself any favors if it was trying to deflect attention away from a potential change in Apple’s mobile mapping strategy. Ahead of reports that Apple will dump Google Maps on the iPhone next week, the company introduced some minor upgrades and dodged questions. Read more »
A Wall Street Journal report details the falling out between Apple and Google over Google Maps on iOS devices. The two sides have bickered for years over the implementation of mapping technology, and it turns out Apple has already begun moving away from Google’s technology. Read more »
Skobbler until now has been known as the maker of the popular GPS Navigation 2 app, which is built using the crowdsourced OpenStreetMap platform. But the company sees a much bigger opportunity in turning its experience with OSM into a tool for other developers. Read more »
Here’s our daily pick of stories about Apple from around the web that you shouldn’t miss. Today’s installment: How Facebook is reminiscent of Palm, phones shipped versus phones sold, how doctors are using the iPad, and another clue that Apple is redesigning its mobile maps. Read more »
A new report indicates Apple is on the verge of replacing the Google Maps app altogether in the next version of iOS. Considering Apple’s history of buying up mapping technologies and its preference of using its own technology rather than third-party solutions, the report makes sense. Read more »
