Google Maps nabs 10 million downloads in two days

It's no secret a lot of people have been downloading Google Maps for iOS since it came out last week, and today Google released the full numbers.

In its first two days on the App Store, the software was downloaded more than 10 million times, Jeff Huber, Google's senior vice president of Commerce & Local, wrote in a post on Google+ this morning.

"We're excited for the positive reception of Google Maps for iPhone around the world," Huber said. "Congratulations to the Maps Team on the recognition for the passion and hard work they poured into it, for this release and over the last 7+ years."

Google's Maps app quickly jumped to the top free app on the App Store after its release late last week. The software was a bit of a surprise, with reports of its arrival coming just hours before it went live.

Google's app brings back some of the functionality no longer found in the built-in maps software, which Apple replaced with its own data and services as part of iOS 6. That includes Google's Street View technology and public transit directions, while also adding new features like spoken turn-by-turn driving directions and vector-based map tiles.

To put the 10 million number in perspective: Apple in October said that more than 200 million users were running iOS 6, about half of the some 400 million iOS devices sold until that point. Users on iOS 5 and below continue to run Apple's mapping software that uses data from Google. Neither company has said just how long that functionality will continue.

You can read CNET's full review of Google's Maps for iOS software right here.

This article originally appeared on CNET under the headline"Google Maps for iOS nabs 10M downloads in first two days."