Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has come under fire heavily in the last two days, regarding its less than perfect Maps application in the new iOS 6 operating system. We reported yesterday that Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) had blogged about the Maps system, and that Gizmodo had gone as far as to declare Maps an “apocalyptic horror show.”
Now a new report has surfaced this morning, which indicates that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s biggest competitor, and the one they tried to get away from by creating Maps in the first place; namely Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), is developing an app for iOS 6. According to The Guardian, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) has begun developing a Google Maps application, which will offer users the same experience they had in earlier versions of iOS.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) ruffled more than a few feathers in the tech sector, when they announced plans to use Tom Tom to develop their own Maps application and open the gap between themselves and their nemesis, Google. However, many of those who were chagrined with this decision, seem to have gotten the last laugh, as Apple’s new program was quickly criticized and its shortcomings took only hours to be published in blogs and reports on the web.
The software Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) created seemed to offer bad directions, had graphics which were less than perfect, and even totally eliminated many cities from its turn by turn navigation system. All of this would definitely point to some truth in the story that Google is working on an app, however, according to some reports, Apple already has this app in hand, and is simply taking their time to approve it for use in iOS 6.
The opinions regarding this story have flown from both sides of the fence, as Twitter exploded with the news of Google’s alleged development of a new program. Steve Stroughton, a developer, tweeted yesterday that the report in The Guardian “suggests they’ve heard that Google already submitted a Maps app to coincide with iOS6.” Immediately following the message, he added the word “Yep”, which seemed to indicate that the company had already submitted the program to Apple. However, Jim Dalrymple, of The Loop, replied back with a blunt and simple, “nope”. This would seem to indicate that his sources did not believe that the app had been submitted yet.
The Guardian’s report doesn’t come right out and say that Apple has the app in hand. The report is actually vague regarding timing, and only says that Google is “preparing” the app. The writer did go on to say that there may be several factors to weigh in on “whether Apple will approve it in the App Store.” These reports have led to speculation on both sides of the fence, but as of now, there is no hard evidence of Google having submitted an app to the iPhone maker.
This begs a rather important question to be asked: Did Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) fail in its attempt to come of with a mapping and GPS solution for its customers, or at least one which didn’t involve Google? I am loathe to comment on that question, but if Google is in fact working on an app for iOS 6, and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) does in fact, approve such an app, then I must concede that Apple did in fact fail. At least, they failed in their attempt to push Google out of their mapping process. In all other aspects, Apple is far and above a technologically advanced company. While they may not be able to completely finalize their divorce with Google, they still have much more to offer us in the world of technology than a Maps application.
