Apple: Should Rivals Fear This Slam-Dunk Deal?

There continues to be growing pessimism about Apple’s “it factor” and whether or not the company still has the swagger that elevated Apple to the height of the tech sector. While Apple’s growth momentum has indeed slowed, this does not mean that the company has suddenly forgotten how to innovate and compete against the likes of Google and Amazon. But the company’s new acquisition just might have signaled Apple’s next growth opportunity. And I think rivals would be wise to start paying attention.

Late Saturday evening, the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple had picked off WifiSLAM, an indoor location company. The deal is said to be worth $20 million. This is a significant price to pay for the two-year-old company, which has figured out a way to create a “GPS-type” searching technology that helps detect  phone users’ location in a building via Wi-Fi.

WifiSLAM, which was founded by former Google software guru Joseph Huang, has been working with developers to build up technical capabilities for (among other areas) indoor mapping and retail. However, it remains to be seen how Apple plans to use this technology. But it’s safe to say that at some point WifiSLAM will be incorporated with Siri, and make WifiSLAM a standard in the automobile.

Today, phones can find other phones. But with Apple involved, pretty soon, cars will find cars. And Siri will guide the way. In the meantime, this deal should silence Apple’s critics who continue to insist that the company is hoarding too much cash and has run out of “neat ideas.” Not so fast.

Besides, despite this recent lull or period of under-performance, it’s not as if Apple’s rivals have been able to capitalize. While Microsoft has made some strides with Windows Phone and the Surface tablet, the iPhone and iPad are still the standard. Likewise, Samsung’s Galaxy S4 didn’t blow the doors off the Street, either. The same can be said about BlackBerry, which just launched its new phones to and underwhelming reception.

Essentially, Apple has taken a punch. But the company has not been knocked out. And with new products around the corner and an exciting new acquisitions, I suppose we can say Apple is about to bear fruit.

Forbes.com