Users of the iPhone who enjoy the generally high level of interoperability between the Google and their mobile device got a bit of bad news, as it was revealed that Apple had hired some top talent that rumors say will work on a service to compete with Google Maps.

Reports indicate that Apple had purchased internet mapping startup Placebase in July, whose robustly featured PushPin API survived competition with Google’s free service by offering improved functionality to enterprise customers, though other rumors are swirling that Apple had simply hired Placebase’s top talents away.

Experts caution that Apple may bite off more than it can chew if it attempts to compete directly with the wildly popular Google Maps, particularly if it uses cell phone management to restrict access to the competing service on the iPhone. "[B]efore Apple starts messing with Google Maps on iPhones, it needs to think very seriously about the consequences," writes David Coursey at PCWorld.

Relations between the two computing giants have cooled perceptibly in recent months, due in part to a public and bitter face-off over Google Voice’s compatibility with the iPhone.

This entry was posted by Mobility Management News Desk on Thursday, October 1st, 2009 at 6:58 pm and is filed under Managing Mobile Devices News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.

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