April 23rd, 2010 at 10:43 AM - News by Jeff Gamet
Google is bringing its own turn-by-turn navigation to the iPhone, and it won’t be charging for the feature. The Internet search giant hasn’t said when it plans to roll out its new navigation features for the iPhone, but did confirm that it’s also rolling them into its Google Maps app on the Android platform, according to MacUser.
Unlike some turn-by-turn GPS navigation apps for the iPhone that include their own built-in map sets, Google’s system will rely on an Internet connection to build and map routes to locations. Google will, however, cache the maps for a route ahead of time assuming users have an Internet connection when they enter their destination.
“Google Maps pre-caches the entire route. It needs a data connection when you ask for navigation. But while driving to your destination, if you intermittently lose the connection, it will still carry on. As long as you stay on the route,” explained Google’s Mobile Maps product manager, Steve Lee.
Google’s plans may be good news for iPhone owners that can’t afford other turn-by-turn navigation apps, but companies that already offer similar products through Apple’s App Store will no doubt be watching closely to see what impact Google’s route into their territory has.
No comments:
Post a Comment