Apple Buyout of Mapping Firm Hints at Future Breakup With Google

Apple quietly purchased Placebase, an online-mapping company, earlier this year. The acquisition could indicate the Cupertino, California, company's plans to reduce its dependence on Google services, such as the Google Maps application currently built into the iPhone operating system. Apple's iPhoto '09 organizes photos based on where they were taken, also using data from Google Maps. Google CEO Eric Schmidt recently resigned from Apple's board of directors due to "conflicts of interest" between the two companies. "As Apple and Google's interests diverge, expect Apple to find ways to rely less and less on Google services," said Michael Gartenberg, a tech strategist at Interpret.