Google

Apple Building Their Own Search Engine?

By Rene Ritchie, Sunday, Nov 16, 2008 a 8:00 am

The intertubes are a flood with rumors that Apple may be building their own search engine. Does this mean they're going into competition with Microsoft Live! Search? With Yahoo!? With Google?! (After all, Google went into competition with Apple in the smartphone market!)

Probably not, according to TechCrunch:

Google Advanced Voice Search for the iPhone!

By Rene Ritchie, Friday, Nov 14, 2008 a 7:22 am

The New York Times (via Giz) is reporting that Google's love for the iPhone is about to hit epic, Shakespearian proportions with the release of their ground-breaking "advanced voice search" App:

Phone Different Podcast #30

By Dieter Bohn, Saturday, Nov 8, 2008 a 4:19 pm

This week: Google Earth, Contest updates, iPhone developer noodling, and your emails. Listen in!

(Update: If you're hearing weird things happen at about halfway through, your Podcast downloader is especially aggressive and caught an upload that somehow managed to get 2 of our SPE podcasts mixed wrongly. GarageBand FAIL. We've uploaded the proper version -- delete the podcast from iTunes (or whatever podcatcher your use) and re-subscribe to get it.)

App vs App: Google Earth vs Earthscape

By Casey Chan, Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 a 11:55 am

[This is a TiPb AT WORK App vs. App Interlude! Last week, we ran our Remote Desktop/VNC Showdown, with Jaadu edging out Mocha for the victory. But which forum voter and blog commenter won copies of the winning App? Congratulations MSZATNY and GOS

This week, while the TiPb iPhone Forums vote on THE TWIST Casey steps in to look at Earthscape and it's major-league new rival, Google Earth! They're both FREE, but if you comment below (and make sure you leave a valid email address in the comment form -- it won't be made public, but it will be used to contact you), you'll still have a chance to win an iTunes gift certificate from TiPb! Check out the full contest details, then grab your iPhone and get ready to get things done -- the TiPb AT WORK Interlude: Earth vs Earth is on!]

Google has a certain love affair with the iPhone. Yeah, we know Android is Google’s baby but that doesn’t stop them from putting out top-notch applications for the iPhone. The Youtube App and Google Maps are both best in class and Gmail and Google Reader on Safari are setting the bar for web-based applications. So though Android is all Google, they're still not ready to leave the iPhone.

Case in point, the release of Google Earth on the iPhone. Anyone a bit surprised that they released one of their more unique products on the iPhone before it got even as much as a sniff for Android? Luckily, as iPhone users we don’t have to worry about the politics of the situation and we get to enjoy the app for what it is.

But Google Earth isn’t the only player in town. Earthscape has been around, is free (used to be $9.99), and works admirably. So in this arena of mobile Earth based apps, is Google Earth the young challenger or the new champion?

Read on to find out in this special edition of App vs App!

Googlepalooza Continues! Google Earth for iPhone!

By Rene Ritchie, Sunday, Oct 26, 2008 a 10:34 pm

UPDATE: Jeff from 148apps provides the direct App Store link! Thanks Jeff!

iPhone 2.2 style Google Maps Street-view, Transit, Walking Directions, and Location Sharing still not enough Google love for the iPhone? Want just that much more proof of affection? How about this: Google Earth is coming to the iPhone!

TiPb Answers: Why is There No Turn-by-Turn Navigation on the iPhone?

By Rene Ritchie, Sunday, Oct 26, 2008 a 9:55 am

TiPb loves answering your emails, but we also love sharing our answers with the community in hopes that more people will benefit, and even better answers will present themselves (hey, that's why we have them forums!). Today's question comes from Chris:

"Why doesn't the iPhone have real GPS?! Even the [redacted] Samsung Instinct has turn by turn! Why does Apple add [redacted] like street view [but] not the things users really want?"

TiPb answers after the break!

More iPhone 2.2 Google Goodness: Transit, Walking, Street-View, and Share Location!

By Rene Ritchie, Saturday, Oct 25, 2008 a 5:21 pm

Dieter's been saying for a long time that Google hearts the iPhone -- and why wouldn't it, it delivers an incredible amount of mobile eyeballs for advertising. We've also said that the ultimate edge the iPhone enjoys over Android is that while Google produces great service for both Android and the iPhone, Apple only produces for the iPhone. The iPhone gets the best of both worlds. Latest case in point, iPhoneYap (via Apple Insider) has posted extensive screenshots of the new Google Maps 2.2, and it looks like we're getting:

Public transit directions (including schedule info)
Walking directions
Street view
Location Sharing

Since Google pimped out Street View for Android already, it's no big surprise that the iPhone (and other mobile platforms) are getting it as well. Same thing happened with cell tower location services last year. Still, we're hoping Apple's usual UI expertise will make this a particularly good implementation. No word yet, however, if we'll be getting Android-style real-time rotation...

Sampling of images after the jump, see the full gallery at iPhoneYap

T-Mobile Android G1 Gets Un-Boxed, Measured Against iPhone 3G!

By Rene Ritchie, Tuesday, Oct 21, 2008 a 9:37 am

Android Central got their mechanical pincers on a fresh new T-Mobile Android G1 un-boxing today, and what's the first thing they go and do? Measure it up against an iPhone 3G, of course.

Want Google Ads Optimized For Your iPhone?

By Rene Ritchie, Tuesday, Oct 14, 2008 a 5:55 am

When Apple launched the iPhone, they teased a "breakthrough internet device" and promised us "just the internet" in our pocket. Increasingly, the internet is becoming synonymous with Google, and how does Google make it's Microsoft-rivaling money again?

No, not search. Advertising! And now, everyone's favorite online advertiser is getting ready to better serve up their ads on the iPhone. With MobileSafari's monstrous browser share, who couldn't see this one coming?

Says Google (via Ars Technica):

Android vs. iPhone: The Battle for Funnerest Begins!

By Rene Ritchie, Tuesday, Sep 23, 2008 a 2:22 pm

Yeah, A-Day -- it's like that. No sooner did Apple announce the iPod Touch as the "funnest" ever (yet apparently didn't tell OS X's built in dictionary not to take issue with that obscure, yet valid usage...), then Google and T-Mobile decided to have a little, er, "fun" with it themselves: