Apple is still plugging away in its efforts to improve its widely panned iOS Maps application and on Monday it paid an estimated $20 million to acquire indoor mapping company WifiSLAM. The Wall Street Journal reports that WifiSLAM “has developed ways for mobile apps to detect a phone user’s location in a building using Wi-Fi signals” and “has been offering the technology to application developers for indoor mapping and new types of retail and social networking apps.” An Apple spokesperson wouldn’t tell the Journal why Apple had acquired the company and only said that it “buys smaller technology companies from time to time.”
About Shelly Palmer
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with technology, media and marketing. Named LinkedIn’s “Top Voice in Technology,” he covers tech and business for Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN and writes a popular daily business blog. He's a bestselling author, and the creator of the popular, free online course, Generative AI for Execs. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.