According to a new report, Apple has acquired Toronto-based Locationary, a Canadian startup that provides crowdsourced location data, for an unknown amount. The deal, which has already closed, includes both the company's tech and team.
Apple spokesman Steve Dowling has even confirmed the new acquisition, offering up the usual boiler plate response 'Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.”
It's nearly unthinkable: a technology firm bad-talking a rival to a prospective customer. That's the heart of the latest claim by a location services company suing Internet giant Google for alleged patent infringement.
Skyhook Wireless is asking a court to compel Google to turn over documents showing co-founder Sergey Brin spoke badly of SkyHook's GPS location technology. As part of a recent court filing, Skyhook charges Brin told Apple co-founder Steve Jobs that the iPhone maker could do better if it went with Google...
Mappr is a recently released jailbreak tweak that replaces the traditional Spotlight search with that of a map. The map can be configured in the Settings app to track your location or to change the map type.
Although the idea of Mappr sounds interesting, its execution leaves a bit to be desired. Check out our video walkthrough to see what I mean.
As we told you yesterday, a growing number of users report problems with the Google Now feature depleting their iPhone's battery fast due to its reliance on iOS location capabilities. On Monday, the Internet giant finally brought Google Now capabilities to iDevices via an update to its native Search iOS app.
Responding to the battery life concerns, Google on Thursday issued a statement denying any problems with the app draining your iPhone's battery...
Waze, a free social GPS application developed by the Israeli start-up Waze Mobile, at point was supposedly going to be acquired by Apple in order to improve iOS 6 Maps data, though later reports dismissed the rumor as wishful thinking.
Its CEO Noam Bardin was interviewed at AllThingsD's Dive Into Mobile conference yesterday.
Among the topics discussed, Barding shared his observations concerning Apple's Maps service which debuted as part of iOS 6 in September 2012, here's what he said...
Celebrating its fourth anniversary, the location-based social networking service Foursquare today pushed a major new version of its mobile app, bringing out new features that tap over 3.5 billion check-ins users have made on the service thus far. "With the new Foursquare 6.0, we’re crunching all our data to show the best of what’s nearby, anywhere in the world, the second you open up the app," the team wrote in a blog post Wednesday. Here's what's new...
Is Apple preparing to take another chunk out of Google's mapping franchise? A patent filed in 2011 and entitled "3D Position Tracking for Panoramic Navigation," discovered Thursday, suggests the iPhone maker is considering adding street level navigation to its own iOS 6 Maps technology.
By virtue of the description, the invention suggests using movement sensors built into the iPhone and iPad to make it easier for mobile users to move within virtual maps. Currently, Google's Street View feature makes use of mouse movements and touchscreen input for navigation. A key difference between Apple Maps and Google Maps may also include the ability to navigate within structures...
Google has added another new app to its massive library of iOS offerings today. Previously reserved for Android users, Field Trip is a location discovery app, built to help you find local points of interest.
The app is billed as a way to help you "discover thousands of interesting places and experiences" that fall under a number of categories including places and events, food and drinks, and more...
Apple is once again in U.S. District Court, attempting to derail a lawsuit claiming apps for the iPhone and iPad collected location data and other personal information without explicit permission from users. Responding Thursday to an effort by plaintiffs' attorneys to classify the lawsuit a class action, Apple's legal team argued no harm was suffered and suggested the call for class action status is a "desperate attempt" to collect legal fees...
Apple Tuesday was issued an interesting patent that could relate to recent headlines about a device known as the iWatch. The patent approved by the United State Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) describes an "accessory device" that could receive GPS data from your iPhone. For some time, speculation has surrounded Apple was working on a wristwatch device that can communicate with your smartphone or iPad.
According to the patent, location data could be transmitted either wirelessly or through a hard connection, displaying either a map with navigation or simply points of interest. The technology permits either data to be sent from the iPhone to an accessory device, from the accessory device to the iPhone or to whichever device is deemed most accurate...
If you own a business and spend time and money promoting it on the web, you should definitelly check out Foursquare's brand new iOS app. Released Tuesday morning, Foursquare for Business is a handy sidekick that promises to help you get more customers walking through the door. The app can be used to post photo updates as your business, activate and deactivate specials, view customer tips, access analytics and more...
Back in 2011 a group of 29 people took action against Apple, claiming that the iPhone-maker was illegally enabling location-based features without their consent (you remember locationgate, don't you?). Today, however, they've backed down after failing to provide sufficient evidence.
The group had been seeking 800,000 won (or $757 USD) per person, but will now turn their attention to a separate class-action privacy suit filed with a regional court, which involves claims from roughly 27,000 iPhone owners in the country and could be worth up to $25 million...