Apple jilted Google Maps over verbal turn-by-turn directions

Apple ditched Google Maps over voice-guided turn-by-turn driving directions, according to reports. The two companies faced stalemate over the maps app as Apple refused to allow Google branding, while Google refused to give up spoken directions.

AllThingsD reports Apple wanted verbal directions added to the Google Maps app on the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch -- after all, they're included in the Maps app built into Google's own Android operating system for phones and tablets.

But that's the rub. Apple had hitched its apple cart to a company that had, since the initial hitching, evolved into Apple's biggest rival. Google was therefore understandably in no rush to fork over such an important feature to its biggest rival in the mobile phone world.

And while Apple wanted vocular turn-by-turn directionation, it didn't want Google putting its name on the app, no matter how hard Google tried. It also didn't want Google Latitude added to it.

And so Apple gave Google Maps the old heave-ho, a year before the end of the contract between the two companies. Apple may be happier to have its own Maps app at last, but the rest of us aren't: the Maps app arrived with huge chunks of data missing, inaccurate or hopelessly out-of-date.

As handy as spoken turn-by-turn directions are, they're not much use if they direct you to the wrong place. So let's hope Apple is racing to fix the data in the app.

After Apple was forced to replace Google Maps with an inferior app thanks to Google's canny use of turn-by-turn directions as a bargaining chip, Google is now in no rush to rescue Apple Maps. Big G boss Eric Schmidt said this week the search giant had done no work on a Google Maps app for iOS 6.

You can still use Google Maps online in your web browser on your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch. As if to demonstrate its superiority, Google Maps is also adding Street View to the iOS Safari online version some time in the next couple of weeks.

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