In fact, with the exception of Turn-By-Turn nav, it doesn't feel that much different than the Google Maps app.
But the biggest change for me so far is the new Apple Maps app, which replaces the Google Maps app.
In other words, Apple had been stuck with a second-rate Google Maps app while Android had a far better one.
FORBES: Is Google's New Maps App Actually a Big Triumph for Apple?
Google has had mapping software since 2005, and a Google Maps app was pre-installed on the first iPhone starting in 2007.
No one could wait for Google to release its own Google Maps app to replace the Apple-built one Apple had cast aside.
FORBES: Is Google's New Maps App Actually a Big Triumph for Apple?
In fact, that the new Google Maps app is much better than the old Google Maps which Apple threw off iOS only three months back.
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She was immediately taken with exploring the Google Maps app and swooping down into Street View, having never used it before for much more than driving directions.
Separately, The Verge and New York Times have heard from unnamed sources that a standalone Google Maps app on iOS is launching, but may not be ready until the end of the year.
ENGADGET: Rumors about Google Maps app for iOS intensify, claim it's still months away from launch
It loads much more quickly than the old iOS Google Maps app because it uses vector graphics instead of bitmap graphics, and it has turn-by-turn navigation which the old iOS Google Maps app did not have.
The new Google Maps app is available for the iPhone and iPod Touch (4th gen) iOS 5.1 and higher, in more than 40 countries and 29 languages, including Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish.
Microsoft is seeking, and now very likely to obtain, a German patent injunction against the Google Maps service, the Google Maps Android client app, and web browsers providing access to Google Maps.
Last September when Apple ditched its Google Maps iPhone app and replaced it with its amazingly inept home-built Maps app, the move was so roundly denounced as a step backward and a weakening of the iPhone environment that chief executive Tim Cook had to release a public apology.
FORBES: Is Google's New Maps App Actually a Big Triumph for Apple?
Google has not yet announced an official Google Maps iOS app, but many suspect it will, just as it did for YouTube after Apple removed the video-service's baked-in app.
Google was becoming an even greater enemy, and at the core, Apple had essentially no leverage over how Google's Maps app acted, looked or received updates.
ENGADGET: Editorial: Does Windows Phone even have a chance without Google?
He noted that more than 100 million mobile device users had upgraded to the new iOS software, replacing a Google-powered maps app with Apple's own software which relies on licensed navigation data.
You can reply right there without having to leave Google Maps or whatever app you happen to be using, even move the bubble around so it's not blocking a certain part of the screen.
The company also embarrassed itself and its corporate team when it chose to replace Google Maps with a low-quality Maps app.
Remember that when iPhone shipped in 2007 it had a native Google app called Maps on it.
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Seven hours after Google introduced its own Maps app into the App Store, it became the No. 1 free iPhone app.
ENGADGET: Editorial: Does Windows Phone even have a chance without Google?
Apple used to have Google Maps as a default app on the iPhone, but removed the service in the update to its mobile operating system iOS 6, in mid-September 2012.
In a letter posted to Apple's home page he had suggested that users create a web app for either Nokia or Google's maps - but a native app, such as Here Maps, should offer a superior experience.
BBC: Nokia to offer free maps app and service for rival handsets
So that revenue is gone whether or not Google introduces its own iOS Maps app.
FORBES: Could An Exclusive Google Maps Be Android's Killer App?
Now Google has released its new maps app and Apple has approved it.
But Google Maps and the Flickr iPhone app each tell us an interesting story about where power lies in today's mobile world.
The app is missing some of the most useful features from the former iOS Maps app: Google's transit directions and street view images.
But the most high-profile change is expected to be Apple's announcement that it's replacing Google Maps with its own mapping app as the system's default.
Enabled by the Send2Car feature, Kia owners can send a POI or destination to their car directly from the Google Maps via their Smartphone1 UVO app.
ENGADGET: Google and Kia partnership will bring Google Maps and Places to new cars this year
Tourists simply enter origin and destination points, and using a Google Maps interface, the global app creates a circuitous route, full of fun detours such as strolling through a nearby park or popping in to a new boutique.
In the few hours after is release, Google Maps became the most popular free app available on the App Store.
First, according to comScore ( SCOR) newest Mobile Metrix report Facebook ousted Google Maps as the number one mobile app.
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