Hello all, I have a question which seems to have been asked a few times already, but I could not find a definitive answer to. Can we use Google's static maps API from a native application on a mobile device (in this case, a Nokia S60 based phone, which does not have its own map SDK)?
We would like to produce a free app that allows the user to slide a map around, and zoom in and out much like the native maps application. The difference is that we will be overlaying it with markers for information specific to each user. The browser capabilities on the target devices varies dramatically, but so far none we have tested can handle the JS dynamic maps API in a way that feels responsive. So, we were looking at using the static maps API to implement this in native code. That is technically straightforward, but it was not clear whether it was allowed under the terms of service - there is some contradiction in the various docs on the maps API site: The FAQ states that "Yes, the Google Maps APIs can now be used in Desktop applications, provided that they adhere to the other restrictions of the Terms of Service." But: The terms of service still stating "you must not ... 10.8 use the Static Maps API other than in an implementation in a web browser;" The terms of service document also states that it takes precedence over all other docs, so this would tend to suggest that use of the static maps API outside of a browser was still not allowed. But is that the intention, or just a case of the terms being out of date? Finally, there is the issue of the usage limit. Our simple testing here to see if this was even technically possible seems to have hit the usage limit much sooner than 1000 images. Not sure why, but that also has us concerned about whether this is a viable solution. Is there a contact email address at Google where we could ask legal questions and get a definitive answer? We obviously don't want to build something that would violate the terms of service, or for that matter violate the spirit of the terms. Thanks in advance, John... --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Google Maps API" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Google-Maps-API?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
