Although Apple's iPhone 5 has been well-received by critics, its iOS 6 software has drawn lots of complaints over the new Maps app, which drops Google's database and uses a patchwork of mapping sources instead. So far, this has proven unreliable for many users.
If you've run into any trouble with Maps in iOS 6, you may wonder why Apple wanted to get rid of Google's mapping data in the first place. Apple's long-brewing rivalry with Google may be part of the answer, but it's not the whole story. (After all, if Apple really wanted to stick it to the search giant, it could just swap Google for Bing as the default iPhone search engine.)
The real reason is all about control over the data, and Apple isn't the only one considering this. Microsoft recently cut a deal to bring Nokia's mapping data to all Windows Phone 8 devices, and in 2010, Google strong-armed Motorola into using Google location data instead of partnering with a competitor, Skyhook. Apple, like other operating system developers, sees the value in knowing where users are going.
?Maps are strategic [intellectual property] because they capture consumers' intent of where they want to go, so there's the opportunity to intervene and shape consumers' path,? Sarah Rotman Epps, an analyst for Forrester Research, said in an e-mail.
Epps explained that when an operating system knows where the user is located, it can show or not show certain content, suggest places to go, and serve relevant ads or coupons. ?Apple doesn't want Google to have that data on its users, and doesn't want to give Google the opportunity to serve location-based guidance,? Epps said.
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