With Apple's own Maps software for the iPhone having been hit by issues galore, a native version of the Google Maps app for the handset has now been released on the Apple store.

The new Google Maps app for the iPhone brings on some functionality that was earlier limited to Android-based devices; though the app will lack some facilities - like indoor maps, voice search, and downloading maps for offline views - which are available on the Google Maps' Android version.

Though it was being widely speculated that Apple will probably not approve Google's iPhone Maps app for its store, Apple apparently gave the go-ahead to the app because iPhone sales are the core contributor to the company's revenue.

For its recently-launched native version of its Maps app for the iPhone, Google has introduced some new features which were not available in its previous iPhone app. These new features include the addition of voice-instructed turn-by-turn directions, with anticipated travel times; and indoor panoramic pictures of buildings which have signed up to the Google Street View Business Photos service.

In addition, the app also boasts 3D representations of the outlines of buildings which are viewable from different angles; as well as vector-based graphics derived from mathematical lines and points - instead of pre-created bitmap graphics -, facilitating faster zoom in and out of a particular area.