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Google Maps Top Free iOS App in 7 Hours

By Barbara E. Hernandez

| Thursday, Dec 13, 2012 | Updated 12:04 PM PDT

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A Google Street View tricycle takes pictures near Mouille Point. Photo: Aquagg on Flickr

It's been a long time, but apparently Apple approved the launch of Google Maps for the iOS today.

The free app from the search titan is already the most downloaded app in the App store, a mere seven hours after it launched, according to the Next Web. So far, the app has been given good scores in both the UK and the US of 4.5 out of 5 and rushed ahead of Apple's "12 Days of Christmas" app.

Apple Maps, Apple's in-house map software, has been almost universally derided for mislabeling monuments and giving wrong directions -- most recently to people stranded in the Australian outback. Whether people are using Google Maps as a replacement or to complement the iOS offering is unknown, but we hope for everyone's safety they use Google Maps.

The interesting part is that so many iOS enthusiasts are enjoying the app from the makers of Android, although David Pogue a New York Times tech columnist and recognized Apple fanboy had to say, "Google admits that it’s even better than Google Maps for Android phones, which has accommodated its evolving feature set mainly by piling on menus.”

Wow, an Android insult wrapped in a compliment about the supposedly-better iOS interface. That's Apple fanboyism to the extreme.