Apple has acquired the Toronto-based Locationary in an effort to beef-up its mapping service, which still has that work-in-progress stigma around it.
Locationary, in case you don’t know, provides accurate local business listings, relying on combination of crowd-sourced data and a federated data exchange platform called Saturn. The company collects, merges and continuously verifies information on local businesses and points of interest around the world, making sure users don’t get out-of-date information. In other words, Locationary’s data not only tells you whether some store is still in business, but also whether it’s temporarily closed for renovation. If used properly, this could be powerful information, helping Apple differentiate its service from the rest of the pack.
As usual, the Cupertino-based company declined to comment on the news, saying to AllThingsD they buy smaller companies from time to time, and generally do not discuss their “purpose or plans.” Hopefully, with the launch of the iPhone 5S we’ll get to see improved maps incorporating Locationary’s data to provide better customer experience…