Apple has been using Google Maps since it launched the iPhone in 2007. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt even joined Steve Jobs on the stage during the handset’s announcement. The two companies’ relationship has dwindled, however, with the success of Google’s own Android mobile operating system that competes directly with the iPhone. A new report from 9To5Mac suggests that the next major version of Apple’s mobile operating system, iOS 6, will feature an in-house maps application, ending ...

Google Maps has been updated to allow users to access new “photo tours” within the service. The feature uses contributed photos from around the world that are stitched together to give a 3D photo scene of a popular location. Photo tours are available for more than 15,000 popular sites around the world and can be initiated through Google Maps in two ways. “First, when you search for a place, such as Trevi Fountain, the results in the left panel will indicate if there is a photo tour available...

Most online April Fool’s jokes are, to put it as kindly as possible, awful. Of all the companies that try to put creative “pranks” together, however, Google is among the best at managing April Fool’s stunts that are geeky enough to be laughed at in a good way rather than an uncomfortable, “I can’t believe someone thought this would be clever” way. This year, Google cooked up a creative new feature for Google Maps that lets users tour America with 8-bit graphics that w...

According to legal documents for its upcoming hearing with Oracle, between 2008 and 2011 Android generated less than $550 million in revenue for Google. Apple’s iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, which use Google Maps and search, generated more than four times as much revenue for the Mountain View-based company during the same time frame, The Guardian reported on Thursday. Roughly 100 million Android devices have been activated since the end of 2011, with an average of 850,000 devices activated each day, sugg...

A Florida firm has filed a claim alleging that Google and Apple are both infringing on its mapping technology, PaidContent reported on Monday. PanoMap Technologies filed the complaint in an Orlando federal court, stating the use of Google Maps “Street View” feature in the iPad and iPhone violates U.S. Patent No. 6,563,529. The patent covers an “interactive system for displaying detailed view and direction in panoramic images.” The company wants Apple and Google to pay triple damages, asserting t...

Google has been ordered to pay €500,000 to Bottin Cartographes, a French company that filed a lawsuit against Google France after it began providing its free Google Maps services to customers. Google is also responsible for paying an additional €15,000 in fees. The court found Google “guilty of abusing the dominant position of its Google Maps application,” Economic Times said Thursday. ”We proved the illegality of [Google's] strategy to remove its competitors… the court recognize...

Beating out popular own-brand apps like Google Search, Gmail, Google Maps and YouTube, Facebook holds the title as the most actively used Android app. Market research firm Nielsen on Monday published the findings of a month-long study to determine the most-used Android apps currently available for the platform. The study made use of Nielsen’s proprietary on-device monitoring software, which has been voluntarily installed by thousands of panelists across the country. Beyond the Android Market itself, F...

Google has announced a new privacy option that allows users to opt out of having their wireless routers included in the Google Location Server. That’s right, you have to opt out, not in. Here’s how Google Location Server works: when you’re walking around town trying to figure out your location using your smartphone and Google Maps, your phone can either use GPS or a faster, more battery efficient method that determines your location based on local wireless networks. Google maintains a databa...

Beginning January 1st, Google will start charging a fee to developers and websites that frequently access its Google Maps API service, BBC reported recently. Developers will apparently be charged $4 for every 1,000 views after Google Maps is accessed more than 25,000 times in a single 24-hour period. BBC said Google expects the changes will only affect 0.35% of its user base. “We understand that the introduction of these limits may be concerning,” Google Maps product manager Thor Mitchell said. &#...

Market research firm Nielsen on Tuesday revealed the 20 most popular Android applications in the United States. Using data obtained from metered device usage as opposed to observations from surveys as most similar data is collected, Nielsen studied Android owners’ app usage over the past month. The result is a ranking of the platform’s top-20 applications by active reach, or the percentage of Android device owners who used each app within the past 30 days. Google’s Android Market topped the ...

Google announced on Tuesday that it has added support for 3D buildings in 13 additional cities on Google Maps, including London, Paris, Barcelona, Stockholm, Singapore, Lisbon, Boulder, and 11 cities in South Africa. Until Tuesday, the feature was available in just a handful of other metropolitan areas, including New York, Milan, and Zurich. To activate 3D buildings in one of the aforementioned locations, simply zoom in close to the city and the application will then show a 3D renders of the city landscape. A...

Google took the wraps off of Google Maps 5.7 for Android devices on Wednesday, and the software update adds quite a few new features. The most noteworthy addition is Google’s Transit Navigation beta feature, which provides navigation instructions for public transportation in more than 400 cities around the globe. You don’t have to leave it open, either. Once you’ve started your trip, Transit Navigation will automatically remind you with an alert when your stop is coming up. Google also made ...

TomTom on Monday lowered its 2011 financial outlook again as consumer interest in dedicated navigation devices dwindles. Despite beating second-quarter revenue estimates, the Dutch company cut its full-year revenue guidance to €1.23 – €1.28 billion from its previously forecasted range of between €1.43 billion and €1.48 billion. This marks the second time this year that TomTom has lowered its 2011 guidance — the company had already reduced its full-year revenue forecast this past April. TomT...

After spending three days with iOS 5 on multiple devices now, I can confidently say that this is the mobile operating system to beat. It gives you just enough of what was missing, while still remaining solid (“closed” — a.k.a. fast, responsive, apps that don’t steal your data, etc). There have definitely been some slowdowns in daily usage due to the fact that the OS is in beta, and battery life has no doubt taken a hit, but this isn’t meant to be used on consumer devices. And even wi...