Google Courting iOS App Developers to Help Them Build Better Apps

On the heels of the very successful launch of Google Maps for iPhone, Google has started online ads targeted at iOS developers to come work at Google on the iOS Apps team. With the headline “Do Cool Things That Matter”, Google is promoting some of its recent apps like Chrome, Gmail, and Search (Maps might not have been ready in time for the ad) and linking to a page highlighting the work of the Google Search for iOS team…and a link to apply for a job a Google.

The interview with Ken Bongort of the iOS Search App team highlights a little of what the life in the Search Apps team is like, but this section (also highlighted by 9to5Mac) talks about how the iOS team isn’t about just making app versions of Google services :

What is it like to develop for iOS at Google?

Ken: It’s fun. People have misconception that we just copy and paste existing Google products to the iOS platform. But we have a lot of freedom and try to innovate beyond anything that Google’s done so far. We are always working on ideas to push the envelope on mobile search, and we collaborate closely with Google Web Search engineers to implement new features.

Sometimes our innovations inspire other teams at Google. Last fall, we redesigned our app for the ipad , and now we’re working closely with the Chrome for iOS team to improve the search experience in their app.

Via: Google

I know a few people who work at Google—something I think would be awesome as well—I know it’s not often that Google reaches out like this to court developers. What does this mean? Simply that Google knows to be successful in the app world, it can’t give iOS short shrift—the path to get  iOS users to Android and be able to get ads in front of more and more eyeballs, is to ensure that nearly 100% of the smartphone world can not only use their mobile apps, but use awesome mobile apps.

HT: 9to5Mac