Google is still forging ahead with plans to make a native Google Maps iOS app, despite the fact that those inside the company are "not optimistic" Apple would approve it. At least one source reported to the Guardian that prospects might be better now that former SVP of iOS software Scott Forstall has effectively been shown the door, but the company appears to believe a Google Maps app appearing in the App Store anytime soon would be "an unlikely event."

When Apple released iOS 6 with a redesigned Maps app that uses Apple's own mapping data sources, we complained that the lack of built-in transit information and less-than-perfect data were a problem. And though most users haven't been put off by the issues, plenty of people had enough problems that Apple CEO Tim Cook apologized for the state of the app on release, and promised fixes were coming.

In the meantime, Apple has promoted several Maps alternatives in the App Store, as well as pointing to Web-based options such as those from Google and Nokia. According to the Guardian's sources, though, none of the apps Apple is promoting in the App Store use Google's APIs to access its store of location, routing, or point-of-interest data.

We tested a few of the Maps alternatives, and found Google's Web-based Google Maps to offer the missing data and transit directions that Apple's own Maps currently lacks. However, the interface is relatively cumbersome, and doesn't integrate with Siri or iOS 6's turn-by-turn navigation.

Though it hasn't publicly stated its plans, Google has apparently been working on its own mapping app for iOS since this summer and plans to have it ready to ship before the end of the year. However, inside the company there's little hope for Apple approval. Instead, Apple is expected to "keep moving forward in an effort to make its obviously inferior product better," and "save face" with the public.