Facebook's Poke app has taken the App Store by storm, and in less than a day, already sits aloft the iTunes Free app chart. The app, which, in essence, is a chat app with a few twists, only just released for iPhone, but already, has become the most popular free on the App Store.
The fact that the Google Maps app is sitting at the top of the iOS download charts, it shows that iOS users definitely have a need for a fully-functional maps app that is built on top of extensive and accurate location data. Despite its somewhat insane popularity, iOS still uses the stock Apple Maps app for all direction requirements that are passed through to it via Siri.
Google Maps for iOS is officially here, and aside from the fact that it brings a rather pleasant and powerful mapping experience to iOS built on top of Google's wonderful data, it also brings some goodness in the form of URL schemes that not only allow developers, but also standard users to invoke the Maps app with different functionality at will. URL schemes are nothing new, but one of the benefits to users using the Google Maps for example is that they allow users to launch the Maps app directly into different views or to begin using different aspects of the software without having to jump through hoops to get to where they want to be.
Although Google is responsible for the upkeep, maintenance and development of the Android operating system, they have been making serious waves in the iOS world over the last 24-four hours with the expected release of their brand new Maps app for the iPhone and iPod touch. Users have been expecting Google to release their own iOS based mapping solution ever since it was announced that Apple would be rolling their own Maps application as part of iOS 6, but Google has taken things a little step further by also making their Maps SDK publicly available for iOS developers to include in their projects.
The wait is over. Months after Google Maps found itself unceremoniously kicked off of iOS 6 devices, Google's mapping software is back with a vengeance.
iOS 6 Maps has received its fair share of criticism from the customers and the press, prompting Apple to publish an apologetic letter on their official website’s landing page, and even suggesting users to use third-party alternatives until iOS 6 Maps improve.
iOS 6 was launched a few days back and while feedback overall is positive, its Apple-made Maps app has received a lot of negative feedback. Users dislike the distinct lack of transit directions, inaccurate data, lack of points of interest especially when compared with Google Maps on iOS 5 and especially with the even stronger Maps app on Android smartphones.
The iPhone 5 has been officially available through Apple and the carriers for two days now and although it has been heralded as a success, there are still a few issues that have some users expressing a little concern. One of the biggest talking points has been the removal of Google Maps in favor of Apple's own vector based mapping system, which in itself wouldn't be too much of an issue but Apple have gotten things drastically wrong in some users opinion.
Although iOS 6 didn't exactly pack in a mind-blowing level of new features, quite a few significant alterations were made to what existed with the previous version. For example, the rather awful YouTube app was removed as a stock feature, but iOS users could grab a much-improved iteration over at the App Store, so everything in the garden was rosy.
Apart from all the hardware-based announcements, Google is also updating their Maps app for Android with offline maps support, and a big update to Google Earth, which takes it to version 7.0 and features highly detailed 3D maps of cities around the globe. More details after the jump!
