What I am reading:
The days of Google Maps as the default mapping app on the iPhone may be coming to an end. Apple is beefing up its Geo team, reportedly acquiring Canadian 3D mapping startup Poly9 Group. The company was funded in 2005 and was completely bootstrapped, with no venture money. Its employees have now gone quiet. Its corporate Website is down and nobody answers the phones.
Poly9 made a browser-based 3D globe like Google Earth, which powered apps such as the NORAD Santa Tracker and this Skype Nomad blog. You can still see it on this product page for Poly9 Globe. It is a lightweight, browser-based, spinning globe that only takes up 303kb of memory—perfect for an iPhone. 
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