Apple has purchased French Canadian web mapping company Poly9 Group, according to various online news providers.
Québec-based daily Le Soleil reported that Apple had already transferred the bulk of Poly9′s workforce to their base in California. Poly9′s website has also been closed down as part of the deal.
Before the acquisition, Poly9 offered a 3D geolocation tool called Poly Globe, which was used by major tech firms such as Skype and Sanyo. According to PCWorld, the Canadian mapping experts also developed application programming interfaces for other major corporations, including Apple.
The acquisition of Poly9 is seen as Apple’s latest step towards replacing its existing mapping software. Google Maps is currently the default software on Apple devices, but it is thought that Apple are keen to draw on Poly9′s expertise and develop their own in-house technology.
Information Week see the purchase of Poly9 as a sign that Apple are looking to directly compete with Google and Microsoft. Both companies have made significant investment in mapping and location-based services, and Apple are determined to keep pace.
Poly9 is Apple’s second mapping-based purchase in the space of a year, following hot on the heels of the acquisition of Placebase in July 2009. Placebase provided a mapping service similar to Google Maps, but with greater data layering capabilities. Initial rumours of the Placebase purchase were confirmed when its Chief Executive tweeted to say that he had become “part of Apple’s geo team”.
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