Apple Snags Poly9 in Another Mapping Deal

Posted Jul 15th 2010 12:30PM by Tom Taulli
Filed under: Deals, Apple Inc (AAPL)

As seen with the success of companies like Foursquare, the market for location-based mobile services is heating up. And while Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT) and Nokia (NOK) have robust mapping services, this is certainly not the case with Apple (AAPL).

It looks like this will change soon, though. Apple has purchased Poly9, which is a Quebec-based Internet mapping company. There are sketchy details on the deal as the site is no longer operational and it appears that the company's employees are now in Silicon Valley.

Over the years, Poly9 has developed a 3D mapping service, which is similar to Google Earth. It's built on JavaScript, which should make it easier for integration into Apple's mobile products. At the same time, Poly9 has worked with top companies like Microsoft and Yahoo! (YHOO).

Something else: About a year ago, Apple also purchased Placebase. Think of this as a rival to Google Maps.

So yes, based on these deals, Apple is in the process of scaling back its Google partnership. No doubt, there has been lots of friction between the two companies, especially as Apple has introduced its own mobile advertising network. This actually involved the $275 million acquisition of Quattro Wireless. With a native mapping technology, there could be a further boost in Apple's advertising efforts, especially for the local market.

Tom Taulli is also the author of several books, including the Complete M&A Handbook. He can be reached at his blog.

Tags: aapl, apple, inthenews, mapping, Poly9