“Google on Wednesday unveiled what it has promoted as the ‘next dimension’ of its Maps service, with new full 3D renderings for Google Earth that were demonstrated live on an Apple iPad,” AppleInsider reports.
“In a live event on Wednesday, Google demonstrated 3D models of individual buildings and entire cities. The new features were shown off to members of the press on an Apple iPad, rather than an Android-based tablet,” AppleInsider reports. “The company promised that its new 3D imagery will be coming to both iOS and Android devices ‘in the coming weeks.’ The technology will be part of both the Google Maps service, as well as its Google Earth application.”
AppleInsider reports, “Wednesday’s media event comes just five days before Apple is set to hold its own keynote address at the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference. There, Apple is expected to unveil an all-new version of its Maps software for iOS that will ditch Google Maps… It is expected that the all new native Maps application will be a part of iOS 6, Apple’s anticipated next-generation mobile operating system. Apple’s mapping intentions have been evident since at least 2009, when the company began acquiring mapping technology companies. The iPhone maker bought Placebase that year and then Poly9 in 2010. Last year, Apple bought Swedish 3D-mapping company C3.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The fear is palpable, but at least Google’s now perfectly positioned for next Monday’s eclipse.
Related articles:
Apple to dump Google Maps off iPhone and iPad – June 5, 2012
Leaked images of Apple’s new iOS 6 Maps app with 3D mapping – May 29, 2012
Apple’s iOS 6 dumps Google Maps, debuts in-house ‘Maps’ with incredible 3D mode, sources say (with video) – May 11, 2012
Apple acquires second 3D mapping company: C3 Technologies; looks to take iOS Maps to mind-blowing level – October 29, 2011
Patent application shows Apple looking to advance iOS ‘Maps + Compass’ with augmented reality – August 18, 2011
Evidence in iOS 5 that Apple is building its own mapping solution – June 23, 2011
Evidence in iOS 5 that Apple is building its own mapping solution – June 23, 2011
Apple looking to ‘radically improve’ iPhone Maps and location services – March 25, 2011
Apple acquires Poly9 online mapping firm – July 14, 2010
Apple’s purchase of map firm Placebase a sign of Google rift? – October 1, 2009
Android sees lowest U.S. user growth in three years – June 4, 2012
Nielsen: Apple’s U.S. iPhone market share surges as Android stalls – March 29, 2012
ABI: Apple iPhone tops smartphone market as Android suffers its first decline in share – January 27, 2012
Apple overtakes Samsung to take world’s largest smartphone vendor crown – January 27, 2012
These charts will make the Fandroids want to puke – January 26, 2012
AT&T sold 7.6 million iPhones and fewer than 1.8 million Android phones in Q411 – January 26, 2012
Apple’s iOS passes Google’s Android to take U.S. smartphone market share crown – January 25, 2012
Analyst: Verizon’s record iPhone sales signal waning demand for Google Android phones – January 24, 2012
Hahaha Google shooting duds. Nothing but talk and talk is cheap.
If Google could have demoed this on an Android, they would have. What ever they did, it is only stable on the iOS Apple devices at this time. This may only be an Apple iOS option for sometime to come. If they don’t offer it to Apple customers, they will loose them to Apple’s new 3D mapping.
This is going to be fun!
So, upon how many of C3’s, Poly9’s, and Placebase’s patents did Google trample? How many lines of code did they slavishly copy?
This is the reputation you’ve built for yourselves, Google. You reap what you sow.
I agree, angry white man.
Haha! I’d be careful, that’s a very ‘commielibtard’-y thing to say..
None, looking at that. The Google 3D rendering is done from combined aerial photography, C3, on the other hand, produce fully rendered 3D images that are not photographs, as far as I can determine, but computer-generated cityscapes.
That actually looks awesome. When did Google fly private airplanes with cameras to collect all that data? I would have thought that I would have heard about it happening from one of the tech news site.
I can’t wait to see what 3D map stuff Apple has in store.
I tested it out this morning on my macbook pro 13. You can go right to maps.google.com and run the webGL beta on the lower left.
Streetview had a few issues on my mbp, but overall the experience was awesome for a beta. I was impressed.
Hmmm, does the new ‘Maps’ require Flash? If so, DOA.
It uses WebGL, which provides graphics acceleration via the HTML 5 canvas object.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebGL
It truly is a spectacular fail that Google did not demo this on an Android tablet.