The Apple Google fight round two: iOS 6

[Chibi Halo]

Well folks, it's here. The new iOS update is out for all of Apple's mobile devices (save the original iPad but that's a rant for another thread). Now we had all heard the rumors that Apple was going to change who was designing and running their map widget on their iOS devices. Apple had been saying they were wanting to move towards a more turn by turn basis for their map widget and Google maps didn't quite have that technology on a mobile basis. No big deal if that was the only thing. However, there was a surprise that came along with today's update to iOS 6 that my sleep addled brain last night did not really notice once the update had finished. Apple has decided that the YouTube widget they had on their devices for FIVE YEARS no longer has a place within their iOS family.

Apple says the decision is because of YouTube's new direction and nothing more. C|net reported in August that it was because of the fact that Google wanted to have better control over the mobile app version of their video viewing product and Apple was lax in making updates to the widget they used to control. If that were just the case it'd be one of those simple licensing deals that ended and people would have to simply download the new Youtube app that came out last week from Google. However, it seems that's not the full story. With the removal of the Google run map widget in favor of one run by TomTom and Yelp search results and now YouTube being kicked off the iOS last month it seems Apple has it out for Google. What makes me say this? C|net reported on Sept. 14 that in the time since the YouTube app came out Apple has flat out refused to put it on the list of top video apps in the app store. That's right even though people are downloading the Google made Youtube app like mad Apple is refusing to acknowledge this by putting it in their top twenty-five free video apps.

iOS 6 is out with a map widget whose search engine needs considerable work to recognize multiple business locations spread out between two or more towns near each other and no YouTube anywhere on the new iOS. Round two in the fight between Apple and Google has begun and it seems the losers this time are the consumers who don't have the money to switch products and pay to get out of a contract for their phones. Your thoughts on all of this mobile idiocy?

[Ashimakase]

Apple seems to be going full proprietary after their little bout with Samsung.

I don't know whether Jobs is laughing from his grave or making room so Apple can later join him. I just know I have a bag of popcorn ready and waiting for next round of who sues who.

Mobile Wars should be made into its own movie, the sequel to Pirates of the Silicon Valley.

[Chibi Halo]

Ashimakase

Apple seems to be going full proprietary after their little bout with Samsung.

I don't know whether Jobs is laughing from his grave or making room so Apple can later join him. I just know I have a bag of popcorn ready and waiting for next round of who sues who.

Mobile Wars should be made into its own movie, the sequel to Pirates of the Silicon Valley.

Here's the icing on the cake. People didn't use the Google run map widget for turn by turn driving directions like Apple, Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint would have you believe. Oh no, they used it for the handy walking or public transit directions. Find out all of a sudden you have to go to San Jose to make that all important presentation to the peeps at Gaia again and you haven't visited their new office dogs? Used to be with the Google run map widget you could plug in your hotel and the address of the Gaia HQ and get directions based on either driving, walking, or public transit. Apple doesn't believe the world's people walk or take public transit at all. They believe everyone drives everywhere. That right there is alienating 63 countries and roughly 5 billion people from being able to use their product the way they use something like that.

The numbers don't lie when you break it down into a chart like Michael Degusta did for his article in The Understatement. Transit directions alone amount to over 4.9 billion people who don't have access to that now with the new Apple made maps. Street view for where it is they're going so they can familiarize themselves with the look of the destination is a loss of over 2.9 billion people because of the new Apple maps. Apple's big thing in all of this map hoopla is a feature they're calling Fly Over, which is just like the fly over shots you see when watching a golf tournament on the summer weekends. There's a major problem with that though. Of the seventy-seven countries in the world that carry iPhones and iPads only SEVEN of them allow fly over. Of those seven only the United States allows for it nationwide. The other six allow it in only one city. So pretty much, that's seventy-six countries that can't use a feature Apple says is a major part of their take over of the map widget using the TomTom engine married with Yelp social review data.

So yeah, the new map widget could very well be the straw that broke the camel's back for a lot of disgruntled Apple customers, if you know there weren't the concerns that iOS 6 could be a battery hog when you're using an app because of the location services that you need to have on in order for Siri to run right on your iPhone 4s and the third gen iPad. Should be interesting to see how Apple's stock did for the day in thirty-eight minutes because of all of this. I wonder if Apple would be this Anti-Google if Jobs was still alive?

[Kimetsu no Yaiba]

I wish I can downgrade back to 5.1.1.
Without YouTube. It isn't the same, yeah sure there is a app for YouTube.
But I hate new YouTube app interface.
They still haven't even made a YouTube version for the iPad.

[Chibi Halo]

dolla make me holla

I wish I can downgrade back to 5.1.1.
Without YouTube. It isn't the same, yeah sure there is a app for YouTube.
But I hate new YouTube app interface.
They still haven't even made a YouTube version for the iPad.

Google rushed to get the YouTube app out because of this issue. All of this between Apple and Google is causing a huge mess for the users. I guess until things are straightened out we're just going to have to deal with using the YouTube mobile site. Apple and a lot of people in the tech reporting biz say the decision to ditch the YouTube from the iOS platform is because YouTube wants to go to a channel based site with all kinds of channels for things like a weekly web show with a bunch of fifteen and sixteen year old girls talking fashion and boys that they seem to be pushing with the ad provider Crunchyroll is using. However, the snub Apple is giving YouTube in the app store is proof that it's not just letting the license go. This is Apple pulling the same crap they're pulling with Adobe and being very selective of the apps they let onto their devices. Google hasn't said whether or not it'll make a stand alone Google Maps app but even if they did they wouldn't be certain Apple would approve it for App Store sale. That's how bad this mess is getting.

[nouveau sereph]

It was my understanding that, re: Youtube, Google wanted to serve ads and Apple wouldn't have a first party app serving ads to users, so they decided to part ways acrimoniously - besides which, the iOS5 YouTube app was rubbish; I prefer Google's app much more (and yes, it was number one in free downloads, on the app store front page, when I looked for it).

New Maps is garbage. Couldn't agree more. Makes my job much harder than it should be.

@elephant in the room: So, you made a thread about Apple ditching Google's services (always going to happen, been happening for years) but don't mention Motorola Mobility - a division of Google - is pushing for an import ban on basically every Goddamn device Apple is currently selling in the US over messaging patents? Man, that's much more interesting.

[Chibi Halo]

nouveau sereph

It was my understanding that, re: Youtube, Google wanted to serve ads and Apple wouldn't have a first party app serving ads to users, so they decided to part ways acrimoniously - besides which, the iOS5 YouTube app was rubbish; I prefer Google's app much more (and yes, it was number one in free downloads, on the app store front page, when I looked for it).

New Maps is garbage. Couldn't agree more. Makes my job much harder than it should be.

@elephant in the room: So, you made a thread about Apple ditching Google's services (always going to happen, been happening for years) but don't mention Motorola Mobility - a division of Google - is pushing for an import ban on basically every Goddamn device Apple is currently selling in the US over messaging patents? Man, that's much more interesting.

I was unaware of that stuff going on to be completely honest. I don't closely follow the tech world to that degree and the days that was first being reported I might not have been watching the business news that mentioned those goings on.

And about the maps, I can't remember if it was a factory or a field or park or what have you that was misplaced on the maps in the exact location of William Shakespeare's home Stratford Upon Avon. I've heard of cities being misplaced in the middle of rivers and lakes as well. The new maps are a mess.

I wonder though, the stock widget comes automatically loaded with a few things Apple thinks you'd be interested in watching. It includes stuff like the Dow Jones, the NASDAQ, the S&P 500, and then Apple followed closely by Google and Yahoo. Will on the iPhone 5 Apple kick Google off the preloaded list on the stock widget? Would they go that far as to keep Google out of everything?