Katie Marsal
French-Canadian news site cyberpresse.ca reported Wednesday (via Google Translate) that Poly9 has been purchased by Apple, and a majority of the company's employees were moved to California. Poly9's official website is no longer available.
Among its products is Poly9 Globe, described as a "cross-browser, cross-platform 3D globe which does not require any download." The interactive software allows users to spin a three-dimensional rendering of the Earth, while providing real-time statistics on the user's virtual location, including altitude.
The total application, which includes high-resolution imagery for U.S. metropolitan areas, is just 303kb. It is now listed as discontinued on the official website, though the interactive demo remains. It can also be seen in action on a number of other websites, including Skype and Surveys.com.
The report claims that Poly9 was purchased "recently" by Apple, though official confirmation has not been given. It was said that the Cupertino, Calif., company asked Poly9 employees to not discuss the matter.
Poly9 still has an office in Quebec, but the report said that it was closed a few weeks ago. The Canadian company has worked with numerous clients in the past, including Apple, as well as Microsoft, Yahoo, MSNBC and NORAD.
If true, the purchase of Poly9 would be the second mapping related acquisition for Apple. Last year, it was revealed that the company had purchased Placebase, a Google Maps competitor.
Some have speculated that the acquisition of Placebase, along with the growing rivalry with search giant Google, is a sign that Apple plans to create its own mapping software for use on mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad. Currently, Apple partners with Google for its Maps application.
Evidence that Apple could pursue its own Maps application came last November, when a company job listing sought to hire someone to help take the iPhone's Maps application "to the next level." It said that the company intended to "rethink how users use Maps and change the way people find things. We want to do this in a seamless, highly interactive and enjoyable way. We've only just started."
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50 Comments
Both interesting and questionable at the same time, given that the software appears to be Flash-based. Maybe Apple just wanted the talent(?).
I don't think the fact that it was Flash-based matters all that much. People can rewrite software.
As a matter of fact, many developers are already rewriting Flash-based software (sites, etc.) into other technologies (such as HTML5) at this very moment.
Apple was either buying the expertise for a problem they had not yet solved, or patents.
Now Apple needs to solve the "last mile" problem... that of street level views as currently offered by Google.
Apple was either buying the expertise for a problem they had not yet solved, or patents.
Now Apple needs to solve the "last mile" problem... that of street level views as currently offered by Google.
I was reading how google's taking it a step further, taking photos of the insides of shops and restaurants in cities so you can actually click on a place and see what it's like inside...
That site is a pretty good example of how the Flash plug-in drives my 2.33GHz Core2 Duo to 150% or more of CPU utilization.
not sure how that would work on the iPhone or iPad.
and I've been waiting a few minutes for the zoom level to load at anything better than half a continent