
Google Ready To Offer Navigation App For iPhone if Apple Agrees - Flemlord
http://www.iphonehacks.com/2009/10/google-ready-to-offer-navigation-app-for-iphone-if-apple-agrees.html
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jsz0
There are presently a number of GPS turn-by-turn applications on the App Store
so it seems unlikely Apple would reject this app unless Google were to add
some poison pill to force a rejection.

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benofsky
I disagree, Google would most likely offer this app for a very low price or
free. Most of the current (decent) GPS turn-by-turn apps are very pricey up in
the $70-90 range, of which apple takes a 30% cut. I find it unlikely Apple
would want to cut off that income by introducing a Google Navigation app.

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fpgeek
I'd guess Google wants to offer it for free. After all, it's going to be free
on all Android 2.0 devices and (overall) they haven't shown much Android vs
iPhone favoritism: except where Apple has not let them (e.g. Gmail, Google
Calendar and Google Voice).

Overall, I think I'm beginning to understand Google's mobile application
strategy better. They want their _apps_ to win (or at least be popular enough
to be a strong beachhead). Viewed from that perspective, Android is as much
_insurance_ (that they don't get cut off from an important application area by
an OS/device vendor) as it is something they want to have adopted.

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timae
AT&T is probably more of a roadblock here than Apple. I'd bet as a condition
for allowing them on their network, they get a cut of the current navigation
apps.

To Apple, I would think that equaling the playing field with this feature is
much more valuable than their $30 for each TomTom app.

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fpgeek
This just makes me think about all the wonderful iPhone applications that are
being strangled in the cradle because their inventors don't have power and
clout to pressure Apple the way Google does. I wonder if Apple realizes that
Microsoft is to Mac as Google is to iPhone.

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tedunangst
Google is the company that's going to lose market share and consumer loyalty
as people move to the iPhone?

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fpgeek
I'm thinking historically. Microsoft brought killer apps to the Mac (most
notably Office) that helped them learn enough to eventually beat the Mac with
an open(er) platform.

This time it is Google bringing (or trying to bring) killer apps to the iPhone
(voice search, Maps/Navigation, Google Voice, etc.) with a long-run intention
of (among other things) applying what they learn to their open(er) platform.

