• Computer World et al., Thursday, October 1, 2009 2:46 PM

Why's a July acquisition got the blogosphere buzzing, today? Because it involved Apple, software that could potentially rival Google Maps, and everyone's just finding out about it, now.

In early July, Apple reportedly acquired mapping service provider Placebase. The deal went unnoticed until someone checked the LinkedIn profile of Placebase CEO Jaron Waldman who now lists his title as "GEO Team At Apple." And while Apple's intentions with regard to Placebase aren't clear, that isn't stopping the blogosphere from speculating wildly on the matter.

"The move is raising eyebrows in part because of the established relationship between Apple and Google on the mapping front," writes BusinessWeek's Byte of the Apple blog. "Google, you'll recall, was an early partner on the iPhone with an impressive Google Maps application."

"For the lovers of the iPhone," writes PCWorld, "it's like daddy and mommy are getting a divorce."

"The acquisition allows Apple to decrease its reliance on former BFF Google," writes GigaOm. "Apple could use Placebase's technology to replace the Google Maps functionality in the iPhone and iPod touch (and the new tablet, perhaps?) with its an in-house mapping solution ... The ongoing legal fight between Apple, Google and the FCC over rejected apps on the iPhone App Store is well-known, as is Google CEO Eric Schmidt's departure from Apple's board in August."

With the acquisition, Apple "could simply have found an inexpensive way to snatch up coders that can enhance Google Maps integration," suggests The Mac Observer blog.

Apart from the iPhone, writes MacWorld blog MacUser, "There are plenty of other things that Apple might want mapping data for -- the new Places feature in iPhoto '09, for example ... Or, of course, the ever-popular thing-we-haven't-seen-yet." (They're referring, of course, to a tablet device.)

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