Will Google Maps app swoop in and save iOS 6? Video

Will Google Maps app swoop in and save iOS 6? Video Transcript

KARYNE: Hey, I?m Karyne Levy, and I?m not quite sure where my my co- host Emily Dreyfuss is. It?s not like her to be late... Where is it? This doesn?t look like it? Where are you Apple Maps? Excuse me, do you have Google Maps on that phone? There it is! EMILY: Oh my god, sorry! The maps on my new iPhone totally couldn't find the studio. I?ve been wandering around for hours! KARYNE: So wow, you don't know how to get to work without a map? Anyway: Welcome to Rumor Has It, the show where we round up the week's biggest tech rumors. And vote on what sounds legit, and what seems like it'll never ever happen. EMILY: And remember: you can vote on all the rumors! Keep your eye out for the poll in the interactive player, if you're watching on CNET. KARYNE: First up, we have some Wii U news that for once doesn't have anything to do with when it'll be released and how much it'll cost (remember those rumors?). A Nintendo rep reportedly told Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu that Nintendo's next console will be region locked, meaning that gamers won't be able to play titles available in other regions on their respective devices. (As a side note, Sony and Microsoft leave this annoying limitation up to the game publishers.) EMILY: Nintendo then supposedly confirmed this statement, although an official announcement has not yet been released. Therefore this is still a rumor that I don?t care about at all. KARYNE: I definitely think this is true. Nintendo has been region-locking its systems since the original NES. EMILY: A really quick rumor I think is neat comes from MIT?s technology review blog. According to the blog, researchers at Nuance Communications, the company that brought us such voice recognition software as Dragon Naturally speaking, is working on a way for you to wake up your iPhone by screaming at it. KARYNE: Can I just talk to it lovingly? EMILY: Sure, supposedly ?Nuance is working with 'a number of' chip manufacturers to design a chipset that wakes smartphones up instantly upon hearing voice commands.? I just think most people would yell, "Hey, phone, obey me! Entertain me!" Hat tip to our buddy Carl for bringing this to our attention. KARYNE: As we witnessed 2 seconds ago, Emily is suffering from Apple Mapageddon, aka. Mapocalpyse. Apple had a hell of a time last week when people realized that Apple's Maps, which replaced Google Maps, weren't quite doing what they were supposed to be doing. Namely: work. So the question everyone asked is: How do you get Google Maps back? So far, you can't unless you go through the browser. Google, which has been in the map business longer than Apple has been in the phone business, is rumored to be working on a new Maps app for iOS 6. EMILY: 9to5Mac insists that a standalone Google Maps app has already reached the approval stage in the app store! Hooray! When I read that I thought there was hope for me yet. Then I noticed that 9to5Mac didn?t cite any sources at all, not even an anonymous one. Worse, Google?s chairman Eric Schmidt said that his company has "not done anything yet" with Google Maps for iOS 6. So...that makes me think that a killer Google Maps app is almost definitely not about to be released and I?ll be lost for the forseeable future. KARYNE: I think you're right when you say "forseeable future." Google will hold out for a while, make Apple (and iPhone users!) sweat, and then boom, it's going to make an awesome app that Apple will have to approve -- and it will blow the Apple Maps app out of the water with awesomeness. EMILY: See, I don?t think it?s Google making Apple sweat, I think it?s Apple trying to shun Google, and the big issue is not going be getting Google to make the app but rather Apple to approve it. In fact, there even rumors that Apple is trying to poach former Google Maps employees to work on its own in house Maps, from ?a source? at TechCrunch. That?s a lawsuit waiting to happen. KARYNE: I love it when sources are just ?a source.? Who needs proof and concrete facts? That?s so overrated. EMILY: Do these nameless sources sway you? Do you think a Google Maps app is moments from release, saving iPhone owners like me from wandering aimlessly around San Francisco?s alleged French Quarter. Vote in our poll while we go to the streets of San Francisco to ask some nameless citizens. EMILY: The CNET council verdict is: 4 yeses and one no! KARYNE: Agreed. EMILY: That?s our show everyone, share your rumors at rumorhasit@cnet.com or call us at 1-800-750-CNET. And tweet us! KARYNE: Tune in next week for more tech rumors, and thanks to this week's sponsor, eBay.