15.2. Mapping

Google is most famous for its search engine, but not far behind that comes the acclaim of Google Maps. When creating Android, the folks at Google could easily see the potential in LBS and how well that fit with their mapping expertise. Most LBS applications end up displaying a map. Meanwhile, Google already had the technology to display and update interactive maps, and the business processes in place to allow others to use those maps and add features for their own websites. It still required a significant leap to make that mapping technology available to application developers for mobile phones, but Google has certainly answered the challenge in Android.