Unlike most programs on your iPhone the Google Maps application comes pre-installed when you purchase your device. While the majority of free apps in the Apple App Store use mobile ads as a way to supplement revenue and rightfully so, Google Maps is quite different. It seems that Google Maps on the iPhone is what Internet Explorer is to Windows; a fundamental component. This makes the news that Sponsored Links (via Google Adsense) will begin popping up in your Google Maps searches all the more disheartening. Sure there is a stylized push pin instead of the traditional red pin for other search results, but we don’t pay outrageous At&t phone bills to see ads on pre-installed software for our iPhones. My solution is simple, either Apple needs to supply a Maps Application that comes Ad-free or a credit should be offered to our iTunes accounts to purchase alternative software.
If you would like more information, Google has posted a video explaining how ads will be coming to mobile phones via Adsense on their mobile blog.