Thanks to some good detective work on the part of Seth Weintraub from ComputerWorld, it looks like our friends at Apple have spent some of that cash they have sitting around to get themselves into the map business. What’s particularly interesting, and perhaps important/significant, is how this move clearly puts Apple and Google at odds over who should provide mapping software/data on the iPhone, iPod Touch, etc. Unless you’ve been sleeping under a rock for the last couple of years, you know the business of mapping has become massive. Mapping software and the tiles (a.k.a. the maps themselves) not only help people get from point-A to point-B, they are key when it comes to driving local commerce.

Here is some background from CNet (http://bit.ly/apple_placebase_20091001) on the Apple acquisition of Placebase.com.

I don’t think it takes a genius to see that Apple wants Google’s mapping software off the iPhone platform. Correct me if I’m wrong, but aside from Google Maps, does Apple have anything from any other company that comes as part of the base/default application set?