Apple purchases GPS startup, seeks to improve Maps platform
Following rocky beginnings, Apple Maps may improve with Apple's recent purchase of GPS startup company Coherent Navigation.
Following rocky beginnings, Apple Maps may improve with Apple's recent purchase of GPS startup company Coherent Navigation.
In its latest move to improve its Maps platform, Apple has acquired GPS hardware and software startup Coherent Navigation. Coherent specialized in GPS-based navigation products and services that leveraged data from satellite network Iridium. Along with other recent Apple acquisitions, this pickup suggests an upcoming major revision to Maps, which comes standard on Macs, iOS devices and the Apple Watch.
Coherent products were built for both consumers as well as the U.S. government and military. Company co-founder Paul Lego now bills himself as a member of the Apple Maps Team on his LinkedIn profile, where he stated that Coherent was 鈥渁 commercial high-precision navigation service.鈥� If Apple Maps could describe itself with similar confidence, it could go a long way in catching up to Google Maps.
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Apple Maps had such a poor and rocky launch, company CEO Tim Cook wrote聽a public apology聽for its failings a week after it was released in 2012. Ending a partnership that used Google Maps inside of Apple's own solution, the original version of Apple Maps became a point of frustration because of its inaccuracy. Once Google Maps made it back to iOS as a standalone app, Maps-integrated apps began offering an option for users to use Google's option instead, since Apple Maps was built on so little data in comparison.
Apple鈥檚 recent maps-based hires include developers of such apps as Pin Drop, Locationary, WifiSLAM, HopStop, Embark and Broadmap. AppleInsider聽suggests聽that all of this new talent points to a relaunch of Maps at WWDC this June. If the new Apple Maps can provide stronger accuracy and its long-expected聽mass transit directions, it just might be able to direct a few users away from Google Maps.聽
Source:聽The New York Times
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Henry T. Casey is a Staff Writer at Tom's Guide. Follow him on Twitter聽@henrytcasey. Follow us@tomsguide, on聽Facebook聽and on聽Google+.
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