Apple confirmed this week that it had acquired popular mass transit app HopStop. Though an Apple spokesperson would not say why, the purchase fits in with other moves the company has made to make its highly-criticized Maps app more competitive in the highly-valued area of smartphone navigation functionality.
HopStop was founded in 2005, and offers door-to-door directions by public transit, taxi, bike, or walking for over a hundred metropolitan areas throughout North America and Europe. The app also recently started offering Waze-like crowdsourced traffic information. It is currently the No. 5 navigation app in the App Store.
Apple faced harsh criticism when they introduced a new native Maps App in September 2012. While the major complaints were that the maps were simply inaccurate, the app also lacked public transit directions.
Apple had dropped Google Maps as the source for their default maps in an attempt to take business away from a major competitor and bring it in house. But after the fallout, the Google Maps app for iOS quickly became the most popular app in the App Store.
The problems with Maps forced Apple CEO Tim Cook to make a rare apology.
At almost the same time this week, Apple confirmed that it had purchased Locationary, a company ?focused on business-location maps,? according to Bloomberg. The buy could strengthen Apple?s ability to offer nearby deals and promoted results.
The recent actions clearly show the major competition taking place among navigation apps across various operating systems. Last month, Google bought Waze, an app that improves directions with input from millions of users. And just hours after Apple bought HopStop, the app dropped support for Windows phones, powered by major competitor Microsoft. (Surprisingly, the app has not dropped support for Android- yet.)
I don?t know how popular HopStop is in other parts of the county, but in NYC, it?s an almost daily part of life for those exploring lots of new locations. While the app could be helped by Apple?s massive resources, I hope HopStop doesn?t become just a tool to advance Apple?s war on Google or its ad revenues.
What do you think? Will Apple be able to save their Maps app?
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Source: http://live.drjays.com/index.php/2013/07/21/apple-buys-hopstop-advances-maps-app-battle/
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