According to sources at All Things D, Apple would have taken the decision to develop a map service after a disagreement with Google over Google Maps Navigation, the Google Maps tool for Android that offers voice instructions.
The publication cites that Apple had great interest in the service but the existing agreement between the companies did not oblige Google to add the feature to Google Maps on iOS. The clear disadvantage in relation to Android, then, would have put Ma in a position to act.
The blog sources also claim that Google invested a large sum of money in the resource and saw it as a fundamental feature of Android and therefore was not willing to hand it over (and for free) to a competing platform.
And even if a new deal could emerge, perhaps involving Navigation, Apple had no intention of offering Google space. The sources cite Ma denied the possibility of placing the searcher's logo in the application and refused integration with Latitude.
"There were a number of inflammatory issues in the negotiations, but navigation by voice was the biggest," said a person familiar with the matter. "Ultimately, he was a deal-breaker."
