Apple Purchases PlaceBase to Replace Google Maps

Tweet

Which side will you take when Apple and Google decide to officially terminate any cooperation? It looks like Apple has moved out of the house following the Google Voice scandal and it has its own plans for the future which don’t include Google and any of their services. I am of course exaggerating things a bit but one thing is definitely certain, Apple has purchased its own mapping company called PlaceBase which will soon replace Google’s Google Maps on Apple’s future hardware.

Apple has purchased PlaceBase in July without making any waves but that doesn’t mean this acquisition remained unnoticed. In the mean time we’ve seen Apple, Google and AT&T blaming each other for the absence of Google Voice from the iPhone. While the FCC is investigating the matter it’s clear that there’s some tension between Apple and Google. What’s ironic about the situation is that none of the three parties involved in FCC’s inquiry are not taking responsibility for Google Voice’s ban from the App Store. And let’s not forget that Google has its own mobile OS and Android is growing more and more popular.

Apple must have taken all these facts into account when it decided to buy PlaceBase. We have no official statement from Cupertino but we should assume that PlaceBase will soon be replacing Google Maps. Jaron Waldman, former CEO of PlaceBase is currently part of the “Geo Team” at Apple which means that probably everyone else previously making maps for PlaceBase is currently developing similar software for Apple these days.

An obvious question for us, the consumers, comes to mind. Is PlaceBase better that Google Maps? Well it looks like the company had a few million dollars in revenues and was profitable to the point of actually being able to fight Google Maps while offering a new mapping experience. PlaceBase brings to the table PushPin, a fairly easy-to-use API which lets you add various data layers on top of its maps which means you can get even more facts about your next destination.

Should Google be worried? What do you think? Considering that Apple has sold over 20 million iPhones and iPod touches I say it should. That number will be constantly growing and Apple might decide to completely replace Google Maps on all its hardware sooner than expected. Personally I don’t care that much which maps service I will use as long as the user interface is friendly and lets me find out all the info that I’m looking for about certain locations. But I will definitely grab a Coke and some popcorn to see how this Apple vs Google rumble will end.