Can Apple replace and leapfrog Google Maps in the iPhone?
Apple appears to have purchased mapmaker Placebase in July and on the surface it's a smart move since the company can be less reliant on Google for services. However, Apple is now in a position where it has to replace Google Maps, retain the integration with the iPhone and leapfrog the search giant to keep users happy.
It's a tall order.
First, there's this Placebase purchase (Techmeme). ComputerWorld's Seth Weintraub puts together the pieces. There's a tweet by Fred Lalonde, founder of openplaces.org that says Apple bought Placebase on July 7. Then there's the Placebase CEO's Jaron Waldman LinkedIn profile, which now notes that he's part of Apple's Geo team. Waldman doesn't give the month he started at Apple, but notes he has been there less than a year.
Weintraub notes:
I think Apple wants to free itself from depending on Google for its maps on the iPhone and iPod touch devices. Apple also currently uses Google Maps in iPhoto in the Places feature.
Apple's grand plan: Ditch Google. It's clear that the Apple and Google are on a collision course. Google CEO Eric Schmidt is off the Apple board and the two parties are duking it out over iPhone apps and approvals.
GigaOm's Jordan Golson even goes as far to suggest that Apple may use Bing instead of Google in its Safari browser search box. Let's not get carried away folks.
The big question here is whether Apple can successfully replicate Google Maps. Remember, the Google-iPhone integration is a big part of what makes Apple's device so swell. The tight integration between Apple and Google, the two coolest kids on the tech block, was a win for users. Now the user may be caught up in an Apple-Google chess match.
And then there's the even larger question: Is Apple trying to do too much by owning everything? Remember that purchase of PA Semi. So now Apple plans to control the hardware, the software, the integrated apps and the chips? Vertical integration has worked before and it can work again, but it does make you wonder if Apple may be spreading itself a touch too thin.