Apple has reportedly put together a trademark for “Places” and this could be an indication that it is looking to launch its own social network based on locations.
According to Patently Apple, the “Places” trademark could be:
Places is primarily about online social networking services related to a social networking site and will assist in locating people using GPS on Apple’s mobile devices. Whether this will be coordinated with Apple’s iTunes social networking music service called Ping is unknown at this time.
A trademark doesn’t necessarily mean anything, as patents and trademarks are often filed and nothing is done. Still, the idea of an Apple Places social network is an interesting one because the online/social networking space is still the one place where Apple is badly hurting.
I’m of the opinion that Facebook has already won the larger social networking space and I think piggybacking off its Facebook Connect for new services is the way to go – Loopt finally ceded and saw its user base increase.
Still, if there’s one company which could put a major dent in this, it’s Apple because an Apple Places service would have the advantage of being built into iOS devices. I don’t think it would kill Facebook on these devices but it could create a nice social network for iOS fans.
I would imagine this could be similar to Research In Motion’s BBM service, which is still wildly popular with business folks and consumers alike. Apple Places could allow iOS users to quickly connect and share app and music recommendations in a way that Ping has failed so far.
Still, the idea of Apple Places social networking is just a pipe dream for the moment but you’d be a fool if you didn’t think the company is looking at this space. Would you be down for this type of service? What would you want from an Apple social network?
[Via Patently Apple]