Google Maps returns to iPhone app

DAILY DOT COM - Google Maps is back for the iPhone!  The application launched late Wednesday night, three months after getting the boot from Apple.

Earlier this year, Apple replaced the Google map app with its own mapping program, but immediately fell under scrutiny for lacking many of the features  Google had.  Many iPhone users complained that, among other things, Apple's maps misplaced landmarks, overlooked towns and sometimes got people horribly lost.

Apple's CEO Tim Cook issued a rare apology and recommended that iPhone users consider using Google Maps through a mobile web browser.

Google says is new mapping program is a vast improvement from the one that was evicted from Apple September 19.

"We started from scratch," said Daniel Graf, mobile director of Google Maps.

Some of the new features include, street level views of neighborhoods, live traffic info, turn-by-turn navigation and public transportation directions -- all of which were missing or problematic on Apple's map app.

More specifics on the new features can be found here.

Google Maps is available in Apple’s App Store as a free download, but it’s only for the iPhone and not the iPad

Google's new iPhone map app still doesn’t have some of the mapping features available on Android-phones, like directions inside malls and other buildings. 

A demonstration on how the application can be found on YouTube .