During Apple’s WWDC keynote event on Monday, the company introduced iOS 6 with a redesigned Maps application, built entirely from the ground up. Rumors that Apple was looking to abandon its reliance on Google’s Map data for its Maps app were around for quite some time, and now it has been confirmed.

The new and improved Maps application in iOS 6 adds a number of features not seen in the Google version included in iOS since the introduction of the iPhone in 2007. All of the cartography was done by Apple, with images taken from airplanes from above for the 3D mapping portion of the data.

The new Maps app is based entirely off a Vector engine, providing smooth scrolling, panning and zooming when navigating maps. Features of the new Maps application include, turn-by-turn directions that can also be operated with Siri, local search for millions of businesses,, a crowd-sourced traffic service for real time updates on accidents and traffic issues, Yelp integration, and 3D mapping called ‘Flyover’. The Turn by Turn navigation is presented with street names, smooth, and can switch quickly from an overhead map to navigation.

Apple’s 3D Flyover feature is an excellent replacement for Google’s own Street View and allows users to pan, zoom, tilt, and rotate an almost real time 3D image. The 3D images allow for a 360° view of buildings and allows direct interaction with the picture, unlike the current version which can only be moved horizontally or vertically and is restricted at some points.

iOS 6 will be released publicly sometime during the fall timeframe of iPhone 5. Apple issued iOS 6 beta 1 to developers during the event on Monday and will release several betas before the public release.

{Image Credit: Apple}

Earlier in the week, Google announced an event to unveil plans to release the “Next Dimension” of Google Maps, ahead of Apple’s announcement of iOS 6. On Wednesday, during the event, Google unveiled 3D Maps, a technology that looks very similar to Apple’s recently acquired C3 Technologies. The 3D renderings for Google Earth were all shown off on Apple’s iPad, and with the new technology expected to be released on iOS and Android.

Google uses the new 3D maps by extracting data from aerial models taken from airplanes, and then forming a 3D image from all of the data. Ground images are shot from 45 degrees at four angles and are later pieced together to form an entire 3D image. The event mainly focused on the 3D maps, where attendees were shown numerous demonstrations on how the technology worked.

Google mentioned that the new features, which is being added into Google Maps and Google Earth, will be coming to iOS and Android, “in the coming weeks”.

{via AppleInsider}

Rumors of Apple abandoning Google Maps in iOS 6 have been around for quite some time, however, Google recently announced an event to discuss the next dimension of their Google Maps design.

In a report from 9to5Google, it was revealed that Google is looking to unveil “The Next Dimension of Google Maps”, only about a week prior to Apple’s own WWDC 2012 keynote event, where they are expected to release the details on the next version of its iOS platform.

At this invitation-only press gathering, Brian McClendon, VP of Google Maps and Google Earth, will give you a behind-the-scenes look at Google Maps and share our vision. We’ll also demo some of the newest technology and provide a sneak peek at upcoming features that will help people get where they want to go – both physically and virtually. We hope to see you there.

Apple has been reliant on Google’s Maps technology since the launch of the original iPhone in 2007. According to a number of reports over the course of several months, the Cupertino company has been working on its own map technology for quite some time and will finally be moving away from Google Maps.

Apple and Google have been competing over the mobile space for a number of years, with Apple accusing Google of stealing their ideas and calling Android fragmented, and Google stating that iOS is tightly controlled and too closed. Google’s timing to release new updates is likely in response to Apple’s transition to inhouse operations on Maps technology, and to soften the blow of such a sudden loss in the mobile space, with Apple getting Google a large percentage of its mobile users.

{via MacRumors}

The web is swirling from news of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) acquiring mapping company, C3 Technologies in an effort to beat out competition with Google’s Map data, currently available on all iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch models. AAPL has been relying upon Google to provide iOS users with map data and location based services, something that Apple Inc. is trying to take into their own hands.

With C3 Technologies, Apple can create a virtual rendition of the Street View feature of the iPhone Maps application and could provide iOS users with a far more detailed mapping experience than ever before. As noted previously, the Maps application in iOS has not seen a major revision since its introduction in early 2007. A source from 9to5 Mac confirmed the following:

Sure enough, we have now learned Apple is now the owner of C3 Technologies. Sources say that C3 Technologies CEO Mattias Astrom , C3 Technologies CFO Kjell Cederstrand, and lead C3 Technologies Product Manager Ludvig Emgard are now working within Apple’s iOS division. The leading trio, along with most of the former C3 Technologies team, is still working as a team in Sweden (interestingly, the division is now called “Sputnik”), where the C3 Technologies company was located prior to the Apple acquisition.

C3 Technologies were a very popular piece of CES 2011, lighting up the show with demos of their technology on Android and iOS devices. With Apple’s acquisition however, the technology would be limited and developed on iOS only. The company uses formerly classified missile targeting technology to achieve its extremely detailed 3D mapping effects, something that has not been seen on mobile devices.

It is not surprising that Apple wishes to part ways with Google, with all of its hardware and software being created in house. It is currently unclear when Apple will incorporate this new technology, but will likely release in next year’s iOS 6 release.

{via MacRumors}

One of Poly9’s products is a “cross browser, cross platform 3D globe which does not require any download”. It is similar to Google Earth, and it provides real time statistics on a user’s location as well as altitude.

As usual with any Apple strategy details are sparse and employees have apparently been asked not to talk about their, or Apple’s future plans.

Apple purchased Placebase, another mapping company, last year, and advertised at the time for a project leader to help take the iPhone’s mapping apps “to the next level”. This has led people to speculate that Apple is looking to at least mitigate its dependence on Google for mapping services on its platforms.

When one considers the new location related hardware in Apple’s iPhone 4, and its push to get into both advertising, mobile finances, and consumer product search, as well as service location and ultimately sales (with its purchase of Siri), it seems quite clear that a road map is emerging for iOS devices to incorporate location awareness into every aspect of our lives.

Do you see the synergy emerging between Apple’s various purchases and product enhancements? Let us know your views in the comments…