This past weekend, Windows Phone users complained they couldn’t access Google Maps from their phones – when they tried, they just got sent to a regular Google page. Google initially blamed Microsoft, but according to a statement sent to The Next Web, they’ve changed their tune a bit…
In our last test, IE mobile still did not offer a good maps experience with no ability to pan or zoom and perform basic map functionality. As a result, we chose to continue to redirect IE mobile users to Google.com where they could at least make local searches. The Firefox mobile browser did offer a somewhat better user experience and that’s why there is no redirect for those users.
Recent improvements to IE mobile and Google Maps now deliver a better experience and we are currently working to remove the redirect.
So it was Google’s fault, and deliberate. But it was done, they say, because the regular webpage worked better than the maps page in Microsoft’s browser.
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