Google is the undisputed champion of mapping solutions today. MapQuest, Nokia, Bing, Waze and all these other map services are good, but only in limited regions; Google Maps covers more area and in greater detail.
Google is expected to drop a handful of Nexus series devices this fall, and according to an alleged mobile retailer database listing, the Samsung-manufactured Nexus 2 will be one of those handsets, along with a 32GB iteration of the ASUS-made Nexus 7 tablet.
Fans of Android who have been patiently waiting for Google to announce some hard details on their next Nexus smartphone could be in for some good news, as the latest speculation is suggesting that we could be seeing some moves from the company during the month of October. The chatter doesn't extend as far as specifying whether or not Google will treat us to an announcement of the purported device, or go one step ahead and actually launch the product the next month, but it's definitely a step in the right direction.
iOS 6 Maps has received its fair share of criticism from the customers and the press, prompting Apple to publish an apologetic letter on their official website’s landing page, and even suggesting users to use third-party alternatives until iOS 6 Maps improve.
Although it may have, regrettably, lost its place among Apple's native iOS apps, Google has been working tirelessly in updating and improving its Maps service, which is one of the strongest and most polished services available. Since announcing a bunch of improvements back in June, including dramatic enhancements to the quality of 3D images, much work and development has been going on behind the scenes, and the next large update looks finally ready to roll out to consumers.
Although Apple's iPad has dominated the tablet market consistently since first launching in 2010, Google threw down the gauntlet to its Cupertino-based rival by launching the Nexus 7. Prior to the 7-inch slate, which was manufactured by ASUS, the only non-Apple tablet to create any sort of hype was Amazon's Kindle Fire, and although it - similarly to the Nexus 7 - was priced at an incredibly low price compared to the rest of the market, it didn't quite pack the performance we'd come to expect, and essentially felt like a cheap alternative.
It shouldn't really come as a great shock to anyone by now that any device running iOS 6 no longer comes with Google Maps installed as the default mapping platform. In fact, it doesn't come as part of iOS 6 in any shape or form. The removal of the tried and tested Maps app as well as Apple's decision to roll their own vector-based mapping solution has been the discussion of the week so far due to the fact that users have managed to find some rather large inadequacies with Apple's own creation.
Google's Play Store has just reached an incredible 25 billion downloads, and in order to share the celebratory mood with its hundreds of millions of users, Google has teamed up with some of the biggest app houses to offer a selection of titles for just a quarter.
The last few weeks have been dominated by the announcement of new hardware from Apple and Nokia in the form of the iPhone 5 and the rather gorgeous looking Lumia 920, respectively. Media events held by Nokia and Apple concentrated on introducing the world to the two new pieces of kit and have succeeded in raising excitement levels for the future of the industry. Apple's new iPhone and the Lumia 920 are sure to be extremely successful in their own right, but it's also worth paying some attention to what the world's largest smartphone vendor - Samsung - has in store for us.
Google's Project Glass has certainly wowed the technology world over the past year or so, and with gadgetry often crossing over into the world of fashion, it shouldn't be of too much surprise to see the Big G's intriguing, futuristic invention make an appearance on the catwalk this week.
