> Why? Shouldn't this be a benefit to using Android? Google makes its money from data/advertising - Android is a hedge to prevent a single dominant player from

> Why? Shouldn't this be a benefit to using Android? Google makes its money from data/advertising - Android is a hedge to prevent a single dominant player from controlling the flow of data. In itself, Android isn't necessarily profitable for Google - but it opens the door to their services ecosystem which is profitable. Not taking advantage of Apple's Maps gaffe would be ignoring a massive chunk of the data pie. And with Nokia hitting the scene with their map services, Google needs to act fast.