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Analyst: 70% chance that Apple will develop its own search engine within five years

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 · 11:20 am · 32 Comments

“Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster [wrote in a note to clients yesterday] that there is a 70% chance that Apple will develop its own search engine within five years,” Eric Savitz reports for Barron’s. “‘We believe the company needs to develop its own search technology to protect the data generated on the iPhone,’ he contends. ‘We believe Apple could utilize data unavailable from Google; data generated by the company’s App Store, to create a mobile centric search engine.’”

“Munster figures the company could start by making a minor acquisition of a search startup like Cuil, and then use the index as the base for building its own search engine,” Savitz reports.

Savitz reports, “He also thinks the company should invest in the maps business…”

Full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Munster also thinks Apple should invest in the maps business? They already have. Please see: Apple’s purchase of map firm Placebase a sign of Google rift? – October 01, 2009

[Attribution: Cult of Mac. Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader "cptkirk" for the heads up.]

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Comment Feed

32 Comments

1 2 Next »

ploogman

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 - 11:22 am · Reply

70% chance that analyst is just guessing

seriously, I hope Apple does not get into search. They need to keep their laser focus on hardware-software engineering. It has served them well this decade!
NeverFade

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 - 11:22 am · Reply

32.59% of all statics are made up…
twilightmoon

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 - 11:25 am · Reply

They had search way back when with Sherlock and they dumped it.

Will they get back in the game now? Maybe, certainly Google is not the last word on search. The real money is in Ads tho, and I think Apple will get in on the ad game, search or no.
KeepHopeAlive

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 - 11:26 am · Reply

I hope Gene checked with Shaw Wu about all this. We need to the two of them to agree. We can disregard Toni.
Jbird

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 - 11:31 am · Reply

Is Kreskin still alive?
He should be an analyst. What a bunch of baloney.

How about we dig up Johnny Carson so he can do some Amazing Carnac predictions. At least his were amusing ..
NeverFade

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 - 11:32 am · Reply

Man, I forgot all about Sherlock! Wow – blast from the past there. I can remember playing around with that, thinking that was so cool. And it vanished… what was that Mac OS 8.5 I think? Long time ago…
JAYGEE

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 - 11:32 am · Reply

I’d only like Apple to make their own search engine if they create a new way of searching that blows Google and Bing out of the water.

If Apple simply make a me too search engine that is similar to Google, they shouldn’t bother.
The Other Steve

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 - 11:34 am · Reply

Darn, I was guessing 72% chance in 6 years.
MrMcLargeHuge

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 - 11:55 am · Reply

@twilightmoon

Apple already is in the ad business, specifically mobile ads. If you use MDN’s iPhone app, its ads come exclusively from Apple (through its purchase of Quattro)
Karlv

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 - 11:56 am · Reply

What the hack are they talking about??? To protect the data on the iPhone? I’m sorry, some one here is really confused. Apple does NOT need their own search engine…
iLuvMyMacs

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 - 11:57 am · Reply

Possible- just to piss google off

iSpotlight.com
Smarmy Bastard

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 - 12:38 pm · Reply

Actually it’s a 68.786% chance, but I guess 70% is close enough..
CourtJester

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 - 12:45 pm · Reply

Can you search Google for the odds on this?
KenC

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 - 1:01 pm · Reply

I think Apple bought Placebase for iPhoto.
DUH!

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 - 1:19 pm · Reply

50% of all statistics are skewed in one why or another and 50% of then rest are just plain made up bull. Of the 25% that remain 75% are worthless due to the test methodology or small sample size and the remaining are worthless due to the results are so close that they fall into the error margin Zone so they are a joke to report (not that it ever stops anyone from crowing about them if they are in their favor even in the slightest margin.

I’d say that there is a 100% chance that somewhere in the World right now it’s Time for lunch. You know what my odds of being wrong are 0%. Or I could say that there is a 99% chance that it’s raining in more then one place on the Planet right know and I’d be right 99% of the time. In fact I’d go as far as say that out of 100 MDN readers it’s raining outside where at least two (most likely more) of them are at right now. My changes of being wrong is less then 5%.

If MDN did a poll and asked, “Do you think Apple should jump into the Search Business?”, with the following choices: “Using an Ad based Model Like Google and Bing.”, “Using the Opposite model Free but, with no outside third party Ads just Apple Branded.”, “Using a Fee based Ad Free Model by making it part of Mobile Me without added cost.”, “Some other new model unique to Apple’s culture.” What do you think the results would be.
DUH!

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 - 1:22 pm · Reply

I forgot a Choice “Apple should not enter the Search Business.”
Big Als MBP

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 - 1:24 pm · Reply

I wonder which orifice he pulled that 70% out of?
jax44

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 - 1:46 pm · Reply

@ Big Als MBPI wonder which orifice he pulled that 70% out of?

100% chance we know where!!
Michael

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 - 2:04 pm · Reply

Why would apple go into a business with such a clear winner. This is not like computers and cellphones where it was clear that there was a lot of room for improvement. Apple just seems like the kind of company that is not interested in fighting for market share as much as fighting for market dominance.
Sarabian

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 - 2:12 pm · Reply

And they shall call it “iFind”