Shortly after Apple dumped Google Maps for iOS, Google announces it's time to dramatically cut the price for others using the online service. Google also gives a plug for its map-based ad service.
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| Earlier this month, Google revealed that it hopes to improve its Google Maps 3D feature by equipping planes with its own hardware and having them take oblique image photos. |
The move, which Google Maps API product manager Thor Mitchell announced yesterday, comes a few days before the developer-oriented Google I/O show and two weeks after Apple ditched Google Maps for the upcoming iOS 6.
Google lets others embed Google Maps on their own sites and services through the Google Maps API, or application programming interface. When Google announced new limits to Google Maps usage last October, Mitchell said at the time, "We need to secure its long-term future by ensuring that even when used by the highest volume for-profit sites, the service remains viable."
But other factors entered into the viability equation. Apple is the highest-profile defection, but there have been others, too, as Web sites dumped Google Maps because of high prices and put their weight behind the OpenStreetMap project instead, Google evidently took note.
"We've been listening carefully to feedback, and today we're happy to announce that we're lowering API usage fees and simplifying limits," Mitchell said. "While the Maps API remains free for the vast majority of sites, some developers were worried about the potential costs. In response, we have lowered the online price from US $4 per 1,000 map loads to 50 cents per 1,000 map loads."
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