Now that Google has brought its famous mapping application to iOS 6, Apple may not need to bother.
As expected, Apple also is developing its own GPS-based mapping application to replace Google Maps in iOS 6.
Apple is understandably working to improve the mapping application, and removing Williamson appears to be part of an attempt to turn over a new leaf.
While Apple has been slowly repairing the faulty directions provided by its mapping application, the company had to act quickly after learning that Australian motorists were being stranded in a dangerous environment.
The problem was that someone at Apple decided to rip Google Maps out of the iPhone and make Apple Maps the default mapping application, as part of the crushing tectonic plate-like battle between these online behemoths.
Our reasons included concerns about the ultimate market cap the market would allow the company to achieve, rising competition from Android devices, the release of the iPhone 5 with a sub-par mapping application and concerns about the ability of the company to hold together its management team in the post-Steve Jobs era (a concern that was validated when the company announced management changes).
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WifiSLAM has been offering the technology to application developers for indoor mapping and new types of retail and social-networking apps.
It's also worth noting that Apple's Aperture application offers a similar mapping view, for those already using it to manage and edit photo galleries.
That invention, sometimes described as covering "data tapping, " allows users to grab data embedded in an unstructured form, like an address, and use it in another phone application, such as mapping.
Microsoft has a long history of delivering platforms and services to the automotive market, including in-car infotainment systems built on the Windows Embedded Automotive platform, in-car mapping services with Bing and the Microsoft Tellme voice application, and many other consumer solutions.
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The application, U.S. Fuel Price Mapping, provides drivers directions to gas stations with the lowest prices in the surrounding area from a mobile device.
One interesting feature that Garmin added to the standard Palm application set is a connection between the contact list and GPS mapping.
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