Google to charge partners who heavily use its Maps API
Major partners who serve up more than 25,000 uses per day of the Google Maps application programming interface service will be charged for overages starting in 2012.
It's unknown how -- or even if -- the changes could affect Apple. But Google's decision to start charging its largest partners comes as Apple is believed to be working on its own mapping solution for iOS devices -- a change that might even entirely replace the company's reliance on Google Maps.
According to the BBC, Google will charge $4 per 1,000 views for "hits" that reach more than 25,000 per day. The new charges will apply to partners who use the Google Maps API service to power their own products.
On the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, the map data and Street View content available in the iOS Maps application is provided by Google. Apple has been using its own location databases since April of 2010, but still relies on Google for supplemental data.
Google's plan to charge partners for heavy use of the Google Maps AI will take effect on Jan. 1, 2012, and the company has said it will only affect 0.35 percent of users. Thor Mitchell, product manager of Google's Maps API, said the charges are necessary to ensure the "long-term future" of the product.
Of course, Google's changes may not affect Apple, as the terms of the deal between the two companies are unknown. Google and Apple extended their partnership for maps and search technology in the iPhone in a new deal inked earlier this year.
Google Chairman Eric Schmidt said at the D9 conference this year that he hoped his company would continue its agreements with Apple for "a long time," though he admitted the relationship between the two companies had come "rough" as competition between Android and iOS continues to grow.
Alternate routes are a new addition to Maps in iOS 5.
Apple's interest in building its own mapping service for iOS has been well documented. This year, the company even publicly admitted that it is working on a "crowd-sourced traffic" service for the iPhone that will become available in "the next couple of years."
Apple has also purchased a number of mapping companies in recent years, including Placebase, Poly9, and C3 Technologies. Apple's efforts to build its own mapping service have also been made plain in a number of job listings advertised by the company, including one highlighted by AppleInsider in September where Apple revealed it wants to "rethink" how people use its Maps application on the iPhone and iPad.
It's unknown how -- or even if -- the changes could affect Apple. But Google's decision to start charging its largest partners comes as Apple is believed to be working on its own mapping solution for iOS devices -- a change that might even entirely replace the company's reliance on Google Maps.
According to the BBC, Google will charge $4 per 1,000 views for "hits" that reach more than 25,000 per day. The new charges will apply to partners who use the Google Maps API service to power their own products.
On the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, the map data and Street View content available in the iOS Maps application is provided by Google. Apple has been using its own location databases since April of 2010, but still relies on Google for supplemental data.
Google's plan to charge partners for heavy use of the Google Maps AI will take effect on Jan. 1, 2012, and the company has said it will only affect 0.35 percent of users. Thor Mitchell, product manager of Google's Maps API, said the charges are necessary to ensure the "long-term future" of the product.
Of course, Google's changes may not affect Apple, as the terms of the deal between the two companies are unknown. Google and Apple extended their partnership for maps and search technology in the iPhone in a new deal inked earlier this year.
Google Chairman Eric Schmidt said at the D9 conference this year that he hoped his company would continue its agreements with Apple for "a long time," though he admitted the relationship between the two companies had come "rough" as competition between Android and iOS continues to grow.
Alternate routes are a new addition to Maps in iOS 5.
Apple's interest in building its own mapping service for iOS has been well documented. This year, the company even publicly admitted that it is working on a "crowd-sourced traffic" service for the iPhone that will become available in "the next couple of years."
Apple has also purchased a number of mapping companies in recent years, including Placebase, Poly9, and C3 Technologies. Apple's efforts to build its own mapping service have also been made plain in a number of job listings advertised by the company, including one highlighted by AppleInsider in September where Apple revealed it wants to "rethink" how people use its Maps application on the iPhone and iPad.
Comments
For the number of iOS users out there, this could potentially cost Apple hundreds of thousands of dollars per day.
Potentially but we don't know what the contract is. It could be for the next ten years and has a clause that the terms of use can't be changed.
Or it is even possible that Apple already agreed to an overage charge, perhaps at a much higher cut off.
Potentially but we don't know what the contract is. It could be for the next ten years and has a clause that the terms of use can't be changed.
Or it is even possible that Apple already agreed to an overage charge, perhaps at a much higher cut off.
I'm hoping they have no such contract and this gets Apple's Maps solution (full baked, of course) out into iDevices sooner rather than later.
Sounds like maps will be the big software feature in next summer's iPhone. Hopefully it will include Siri giving turn-by-turn directions.
"Next Summer's iPhone" won't likely be released until next Fall.
"Next Summer's iPhone" won't likely be released until next Fall.
I bet you an iTunes credit that it arrives in June!
I bet you an iTunes credit that it arrives in June!
This makes no sense. Why would they release it in June after making us wait until October this year?
To believe this, one would have to believe that the only reason for the delay this year is that they couldn't get the iPhone 4s finished in time for June, which is a ludicrous assumption.
Additionally, the pre-christmas sale period has always been the most lucrative and the most important to Apple. With the iPods not selling anymore they need a gangbuster product release in September/October to replace those sales.
The release was delayed because they wanted to move the traditional release date of the product to a more suitable part of the calendar year.
I for one use the Maps app a LOT—it’s even my location-aware yellow pages/phone book of choice—and I know it’s an Apple app, but the data/tiles/route data come from Google.
And we all know eventually Apple will move to a new mapping system, which may or may not get any data from Google.
Street view is also something they'll need to mimic.
The release was delayed because they wanted to move the traditional release date of the product to a more suitable part of the calendar year.
I hadn't considered that. I thought the iPhone 4S was delayed because iOS 5/iCloud wasn't ready.
I hadn't considered that. I thought the iPhone 4S was delayed because iOS 5/iCloud wasn't ready.
iOS 5 would have been ready for the normal release, and I'm sure if they had ever considered keeping that date, iCloud would have been ready, too.
This makes no sense. Why would they release it in June after making us wait until October this year?
To believe this, one would have to believe that the only reason for the delay this year is that they couldn't get the iPhone 4s finished in time for June, which is a ludicrous assumption.
Additionally, the pre-christmas sale period has always been the most lucrative and the most important to Apple. With the iPods not selling anymore they need a gangbuster product release in September/October to replace those sales.
The release was delayed because they wanted to move the traditional release date of the product to a more suitable part of the calendar year.
That's seems like the most likely scenario. It also puts the release 6 months apart from the iPad instead of just a few months apart. With both products being Apple's most lucrative products using an excessive number of the same components it just makes sense from a business and logistics standpoint. As we've seen, they were able to sell the iPhone 4S in more initial countries while also including 3 US carriers instead of one, with an even faster roll out for secondary and tertiary countries.
PS: I wonder if the iPod Touch will get an update after the new year. I can see how the Touch would warrant an update before the holidays but it doesn't warrant an update alongside the iPhone so putting it with the iPad update does make some sense.
I hadn't considered that. I thought the iPhone 4S was delayed because iOS 5/iCloud wasn't ready.
iOS 5.0 was pretty well baked in Beta 1. I have to assume the iOS development team was working on a 12 month release cycle with no knowledge of when the next iPhone would be released. It was only in later Betas things started to unravel a bit as dynamic changes were made.
As for iCloud I think it's a lot like iTunes Match and the Push Notification Service, not getting released in time wouldn't have affected the iOS release.
This makes no sense. Why would they release it in June after making us wait until October this year?
To believe this, one would have to believe that the only reason for the delay this year is that they couldn't get the iPhone 4s finished in time for June, which is a ludicrous assumption.
Additionally, the pre-christmas sale period has always been the most lucrative and the most important to Apple. With the iPods not selling anymore they need a gangbuster product release in September/October to replace those sales.
The release was delayed because they wanted to move the traditional release date of the product to a more suitable part of the calendar year.
The 4S was not a major redesign and so they could ramp up production quickly before the the big holiday buying season.
If the iPhone 5 is a major redesign, they would not be able to ramp up as quickly. As a result they will want to release the the phone well before the holidays so they can have adequate supply for the peak season.
The 5S will probably be a minor redesign and will take place in the fall of 2013.
PS: I wonder if the iPod Touch will get an update after the new year. I can see how the Touch would warrant an update before the holidays but it doesn't warrant an update alongside the iPhone so putting it with the iPad update does make some sense.
You mean the iPad nano?