Core strategy: Apple has bought WiFiSLAM, a startup that has been developing a way to use WiFi hotspots to help smartphones navigate large indoor spaces, like stores, airports and conference centers. The purchase is part of Apple’s efforts to bolster its own mapping and location capabilities, after breaking up with Google Inc. last year. The Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend that Apple paid $20 million for the Silicon Valley company. Apple confirmed the purchase today but did not say how much it paid or why it wanted WiFiSLAM.
Long-distance operator: T-Mobile USA, the struggling No. 4 cellphone company, is ditching plans centered on familiar two-year contracts in favor of selling phones on installment plans. T-Mobile is the first major U.S. carrier to break from the contract model. The company changed its website over the weekend to begin selling the new plans. It intends to lay out the rationale for the change on Tuesday at an event in New York. The Associated Press has the full story here.
When the leaves come tumbling down: The Alabama fan who poisoned the iconic Toomer’s Corner oak trees at rival Auburn has been sentenced to three years in prison, but with most of that time stayed. Harvey Updyke Jr. pleaded guilty on Friday to criminal damage of an agricultural facility. The sentence requires him to serve at least six months in jail and spend five years on supervised probation. The probation terms include a 7 p.m. curfew and prohibit Updyke from going onto Auburn’s campus or attending a college sporting event. CBS has the full story here.
