Apple blew it big-time last year with the botched launch of its own Maps. At its Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, the company tried to show that it knows which direction to take Apple Maps.
We won't how know well it works until the fall. But Google -- the leader in online maps -- isn't waiting around.
Google's purchase of Waze -- a deal that Google confirms Tuesday but won't elaborate on -- will, if nothing else, keep a rival from snapping up the hot Israeli startup.
Google reportedly spent more than a literal ton of cash to buy the crowd-sourced traffic mapping company. The price, reportedly more than $1 billion, is no small sum for a company that does much of what Google Maps already does.
What Google is buying
While Google is the undisputed leader in the field, said electronic maps expert Marc Prioleau, Waze comes with three key assets. The app itself, which handles features like social interaction and route mapping; the map database, which contains all the location information; and, said Prioleau, "a really good team of 100 people..."
Read the full story here. Source: CNET