14 DAY TRIAL // Apple has reportedly chosen AutoNavi Holdings Ltd., Chinese company specializing in electronic navigation tools, to provide mapping services in iOS 6 for Chinese customers.
A BloombergBusinessweek story cites two people with knowledge of the matter as saying that AutoNavi will offer its maps of China to iOS 6 customers this fall. Apple is also known to have included Baidu as the primary search engine for iOS users in the country. Neither company would comment on the agreement (as expected).
iOS 6, scheduled to make its debut this fall as a free software update for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, includes a 3D maps service with Siri voice input and spoken directions, as well as vector-based map elements.
In the U.S., the iOS 6 Maps application will feature local search with information for over 100 million businesses with info cards, reviews, available deals, Yelp ratings, and relevant imagery.