Google's maps will start degrading this year, as Apple's will improve.

[onehandle]

Apple iOS users make up 90+% of mobile Internet traffic. They do the lion's share of map using.

Google has been depending on the iPhone to improve their maps.

The free ride is over.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

1. seems like your stats are off

where'd you get your data?

sP

[onehandle]

2. Oops. I meant 67% for iPhone, 90% for iPad.

Android users clearly use their devices as doorstops.

[qanda]

3. Google Maps will be just fine

Edited to add a link to how Google builds its maps: Inside Look at How Google Builds Its Maps

[sir pball]

4. Map using is free. Google benefits in no way from it..

..ther than mindshare, which in this arena they have the lion, the witch and the wardrobe's share of. More than enough to ride this out.

The development and refinement of the mapping system is driven by a completely different aspect of the service - it's a rare website indeed that uses Bing or Mapquest to provide directions; the prices for the Maps API for Business start at $10K a year. Google's interest in keeping Maps at the top of the game is to hold on to paying customers, not to be #1 in the free end-user game. I suspect it wouldn't make a lick of difference to them if they actually did lose iOS.

Not that they will; their response to Apple dropping maps is "Our goal is to make Google Maps available to everyone who wants to use it, regardless of device, browser, or operating system." Translation, there will be an iOS Maps release and there will be one soon. Given how insanely horrible the reaction to Apple Maps is, right up there with the Newton, Apple needs to get a comprehensive update out and out fast. Either that or just block Google apps, which would get their asses in court so fast it would make Tim Cook's head spin.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

5. hmmm...

http://www.apple.com/letter-from-tim-cook-on-maps/

i don't think you understand that google maps doesn't give a rip about ios users... seems like apple also agrees they fucked up on this one.

sP

[onehandle]

6. I don't think you have any clue how Google and now Apple builds their mapping database.

Apple sold ten million new iPhones in the last week. Google lost access to tens of millions of access points in the last two weeks with the release of iOS 6.

In a few months, the only people who will remember this will be the ones still saying that the iPhone will be a failure because it doesn't have a physical keyboard.

[sir pball]

7. And 7,500,000 of those new phones

Will probably still be using Google Maps via Safari, just like Tim Cook suggested. At any rate, while Google would love to have all the user generated data from all the iPhones they still have exclusive access to 56% of the US smartphone market, plus the feedback that users of other platforms who choose Google provide. Most people aren't overly ideologically driven and will use the best product available to them. Apple Maps will improve and probably quite quickly, it's not going to be a failure - but I think you grossly overestimate the "necessity" of Apple users to Google.