Apple has been rather quiet lately. A bit too quiet it seems as reports emerge that the global giant purchased mapping service Placebase three months’ ago with hardly a song and dance.
Why would Apple be interested in mapping technology? We think it has a lot to do with the company reducing its dependency on Google Maps for the iPhone’s map application.
Apple also uses Google’s mapping technology in its iPhoto consumer photo management program for Mac OS X, which allows you to pinpoint piccies that haven’t been geotagged.
Apple’s takeover of Placebase is still largely unofficial, but can be deduced from a bit of LinkedIn snooping done by Computerworld.
Placebase founder and CEO Jaron Waldman is now part of Apple’s “Geo Team” in an unspecified role, while CTO Moran Ben-David can now be found as an engineering manager at Apple.
We’re curious to see what Apple will get up to in the mapping world from now on and will keep you up to date on what you can expect on your next iPhone.
One thought on “Apple Bites Into A Google Maps Competitor”
Apple is interested in any market.