Google chairman: no new iOS map app waiting for launch

Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt told a group of Tokyo reporters that the company hasn't submitted a version of its popular Maps software for the iPhone, according to Reuters. Shortly after iOS 6 debuted, discontent with the new Apple-based Maps dominated the news. A circulating rumor offered a ray of hope to unhappy iOS owners by claiming Google had a Maps application that was pending approval from Apple. Schmidt shot down this rumor when he confirmed that Google has "not done anything yet."

Schmidt, who was in Tokyo to launch the Nexus 7 tablet, also added the the decision to remove the Google-based Maps application from iOS was Apple's call. "We think it would have been better if they had kept ours. But what do I know?" Schmidt said. "What were we going to do, force them not to change their mind? It's their call."

The response to the new iOS Maps application is generating controversy all over the internet. Some Apple faithful are lambasting the move to an Apple-based mapping solution, while others are much more supportive. Rivals like Motorola aren't holding back and have seized the opportunity to poke fun at Apple.