Apple Acquires Indoor Mobile Location Positioning Firm WifiSLAM for $20 Million

Yes! I can finally find my way out of KFC.

It's about time Apple start using it's cash for something worthwhile. There are all sorts of companies like this Apple could be buying for the technology and expertise.

Google's almost entire business is made up of purchases of other companies and they rarely do anything innovative themselves. Other than search, it's mostly been about buying up other people's companies and claiming it for themselves.. Youtube, Android, Applied Semantics (Adsense and Adwords), Picasa, DoubleClick, GrandCentral, Motorola, Admob, Picnik, SageTV, Sparrow, etc.

The list goes on and on...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Google

In fact, Google has been acquiring on average more than one company a week since 2010!


Apple themselves are far more innovative than a company like Google who just buys up other companies but they need to understand they can't do everything alone. There are hundreds of little small companies that come up with interesting new ideas and takes on things. Getting access to the brilliant people in them is probably more important than anything else.

let's just hope that when I ask to go to the main office I won't be taken to the nearest toilet.

"Siri, where's my iPhone?"

"In the living room, under the couch."

Apple, make it happen.

It's about time Apple start using it's cash for something worthwhile. There are all sorts of companies like this Apple could be buying for the technology and expertise.

?? Dude, Apple have been doing this for years, where have you been. We have been using MANY technologies in our iDevices that were acquisitions by Apple. Stacks.

Unfortunately Apple are very slow at implementing their acquisitions. Possibly some are just to remove that technology from the market place?

It has been offering the technology to application developers for indoor mapping and new types of retail and social networking apps.

Device (iPhone 5) log:

12:49:35 Location: 2nd floor, office 101, desk.
12:49:45 Location: 2nd floor, office 101, desk.
12:49:55 Location: 2nd floor, office 101, desk.
12:50:05 Location: 2nd floor, office 101, desk.
12:50:15 Location: 2nd floor, office 101, desk.
12:50:25 Location: 2nd floor, office 101, desk.
12:50:35 Location: 2nd floor, office 101, desk.
12:50:45 Location: 2nd floor, office 101, desk.
12:50:55 Location: 2nd floor, office 101, desk.
12:51:05 Location: 2nd floor, moving west, 2.2m/s.
12:51:15 Location: 2nd floor, moving west, 2.1m/s.
12:51:25 Location: 2nd floor, moving southwest 2.3m/s.
12:51:35 Location: 2nd floor, mens' room.
12:51:45 Location: 2nd floor, mens' room.
12:51:55 Location: 2nd floor, mens' room.
12:52:05 Location: 2nd floor, mens' room.
12:52:15 Location: 2nd floor, mens' room.
...

Would be an excellent addition to Maps and location services in general if your iDevice can figure out its exact location in Airport, shopping centers, large office buildings, parking garages, where GPS is not available.

20 mil to apple is like a dime to me

And Apple has been in business since the 1970's while Google didn't start until 1998 and didn't become a public company until 2004. :eek: Just face it, Google is an ad company who is pretty clueless when it comes to innovation. They're pretty good at buying up other innovative companies though

I think your concept of "innovation" is flawed.

?? Dude, Apple have been doing this for years, where have you been. We have been using MANY technologies in our iDevices that were acquisitions by Apple. Stacks.

Unfortunately Apple are very slow at implementing their acquisitions. Possibly some are just to remove that technology from the market place?

Absolutely, Apple acquires a lot of companies for the sole purpose of burying their inventions.