Apple has confirmed a recent report about the purchase of Hopstop, a New York-based local navigation service specializing in transit directions. The Hopstop acquisition comes after the Cupertino-based company has recently acquired another location-based company called Locationary, which is developing technology to improve search and navigation results for mobile apps while increasing advertisement presence and commerce performance.
Apple’s recent buyouts reflect the company’s determination to bolster its mapping service, which has been dominated by Google.
Despite the confirmation of the Hopstop acquisition, Apple stopped short in going into detail as to the cost of the purchase and what it plans to do with the company.
“Apple buys smaller technolgy companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans,” a spokesperson for Apple said to CNET. These companies include AuthenTec, specializing in fingerprint sensor technology, and Primesense, which developed the motion sensor for Kinect.
Apple’s map service has been largely criticized for its lack of transit directions. Users of iPhone and iPad seeking for trains, subways, and buses directions and schedules are instead sent to third-party navigational apps, leaving Apple’s mapping software in the process.
Before the Hopstop acquisition, the service is available on iOS, Android, and on the web. The service enables users to get directions or find the nearest subway stations and bus stops, receive directions by e-mail, estimate travel time and taxi fares, and estimate the amount of calories burned and carbon emissions saving for the route.
Earlier, All Things Digital has reported about Apple’s acquisition of Locationary, a location-based data company that combines data it gathers from multiple sources, including business listings.
Source: CNET
