Being on every platform is better than just their own. But being on no platform is even worse.

Without Android, Google may have ended up on no platform.

I think the reason why you are annoyed with my comment is perhaps you think I'm saying Google shouldn't release maps for iOS? I think they should, and will. I'm just disagreeing with you when you say that Android isn't that important.

I wouldn't say annoyed, most disappointed. Google have never thought of Android as anything other than another avenue to peddle their services. They're on record stating as such, it's not the other way round. Google were making Maps for BlackBerry and I'm sure other services will follow. In fact, I'd be mighty surprised that should WP8 get a decent market share, you won't see the full GApps package for that. You can't run your products as a shared entity that epitomises the business. You run your products independently with the best interests of the business at heart. Going back to the Samsung example, the exact reason why Samsung can owe Apple a billion and yet still be making them chips.

As a side note - have you noticed that articles about Maps keep disappearing off the front page? I think they are being removed by the mods.

Not surprised really. The front page is being flooded with rehashes of the same story.

Good to see the mods are being effective and efficient. How many more "lol, maps!" articles do you need to see?