Google Maps returns to Windows Phone at CES 2013
The war between Google and Microsoft seems to bedims these days during CES 2013, the most important technology fair of the year. Or at least, one of their battles seems to have been resolved in a more or less satisfactory We refer to the impossibility of being able to access the web version of Google Maps with a Windows Phone terminal And the fact is that the users of this platform were redirected to the main page of Googleevery time they wanted to look up an address on the maps page.Until now.
The story begins at the beginning of the year, when users of terminals with operating system Windows Phone discovered that, no matter how hard they tried to visit the Google Maps page (they don't have their own application yet) were redirected to Google.comThe alarm was soon unleashed, even more so given the unfriendly relationship between the companies, which is also reflected in the alleged block by Google for Microsoft to create a YouTube application just as complete as the version for Android or iOS
Faced with the complaints, Google came forward stating that the fault was Internet Explorer , the Microsoft browser implemented in terminals with Windows PhoneApparently, the web version of Google Maps is built on top of a tool called WebKit, which is well supported in browsers like Chrome and Safari, but not in Internet Explorer However, the medium TheNextWeb was quick to echo other direct statements. “We periodically test the compatibility of Google Maps with mobile browsers to ensure that we offer the best experience for those users. In our latest test, IE mobile still didn't offer a good maps experience, with no ability to zoom or access basic features. As a result, we've decided to continue redirecting mobile Internet Explorer users to Google.com, where they can at least perform local searches. The Firefox mobile browser offered a slightly better experience and that is why we did not redirect such users«. Hence, the criticized method of redirection was applied
However, as we mentioned at the beginning, there is finally a solution And it seems that Google has lifted the veto during the CES, where the Nokia stand shows how your terminals with Windows Phone 8 finally access the web version of Google Maps A tool that is not as useful as a native application or created especially for that platform, but seems to be quitefunctional
In fact, the medium Engadget was able to test this version of Google Maps at the fair and states that it can be done zoom, scroll around the mapwith no problems and search for places of interest with no apparent problems.So users can now search and use this useful tool from their terminal Windows Phone We will have to see if Google continues to trip Microsoft with other issues or, for once, decide to put the user first.
