Two days ago, a beautiful app called Mars Globe HD was released into the App Store. Featuring a gorgeously rendered surface of the red planet, it allows you to explore this other world in much the same way that we have long enjoyed doing with Google Earth, which leads to the inevitable question: with tensions high between Apple and Google, will we ever see it or other prominent Google apps on the iPad?
Google Earth is fantastic, even if the iPhone app is not quite as rich as it is on a computer. There's no denying how gorgeous it would look on the iPad; just look at Mars Globe HD. But Apple and Google seem to be ever more at each others' throats. Microsoft's Bing now appears to be an Apple favorite for searching. Apple's iAds are taking big swipes at Google's AdMob. For the life of us, we can't understand why we can't edit documents on Google Docs. And let's not forget the whole Android thing.
The Google Earth app hasn't been updated since last December. Does this, coupled with the aforementioned tiffs between the two companies, really bode well for it ever coming to the iPad?
The blue planet is begging to be explored on the iPad.
In reality, though, Google Earth is just the tip of the iceberg. Google is constantly at the forefront of developing new and exciting software that is usually free to the general public. As Google and Apple become ever increasing competitors, how many of these wondrous applications can or should we really expect to show up on the iPad in the future?
Apple has long been the underdog in a number of key markets, but the tides are changing. First Apple made inroads with music players, then video, then phones, and now mobile computers in general. It's no longer the underdog, and it's making enemies. With a Flash boycott in full effect and Adobe taking offensive measures to ensure it stays relevant, we've already seen the ramifications of an entire sector of the Internet being off-limits to iPad and iPhone customers.
But the Flash problem is easily fixed; many companies are rapidly making the switch to HTML5 video players or dedicated apps to get around Flash. Games traditionally available in Flash players are recreated as apps. After all, remember that Flash is just a development tool; it's not the application itself. If Apple makes an enemy out of Google, the consequences could be much more significant.
...or forever hold your peace.
We'd love to think that Google Earth for iPad is being developed in Google Labs right now, but it's starting to seem more and more unlikely. The Google Mobile App did receive a universal version that works great on the iPad, true, but consider that this is an app essentially self-promoting existing Google services. What about new applications that require extra development time? If Google can put the app on the Android's marketplace and at the same time promote its own OS, is there any real incentive to release a free app for the competition?
Could this be the beginning of the end? We hope that peaceful coexistence is possible. We hope that competition can remain friendly. But it's a cutthroat business world out there with everyone wanting to be on the top. In the end, though, will it be the corporations or the customers who are benefiting?
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