Respected tech news site TechCrunch has posited an interesting theory - that Apple is working on some type of search engine. Some of the facts posited by TechCrunch make this move seem possible and, just maybe, the rumours - which are now spreading like wildfire - could have an element of truth. The iPod and iPhone both use Apple's Safari (which has a 6-7% market share) as their browser and, unlike other browsers, can only use Google as the standard search engine.
Apple also has a suite of personal productivity tools available through Mobile Me that bring some hard core users to their servers daily and creates a whole lot of traffic which in turn equals a large number of searches - searches that could potentially provide Apple with a new line of profit.
Also, due to the competition between the iPhone and Google's Android, Google CEO Eric Schmidt - who is also on Apple's board of directors -sits out of discussions involving Apple's mobile strategy but now there are rumours abounding that he may leave the board.
However, one thing that could suggest that this rumour is nothing more than that is the fact that none of the big companies TechCrunch quizzed about the subject had lost search experts or engineers, which Apple would need to source before attempting to create a search engine. Those quizzed also did not know of any specific hirings within the industry.
Without hiring people who know what they are doing, Apple could not possibly aim to build a completely new and innovative search engine.
As Apple also receives hefty fees from Google for search marketing dollars earned from Safari, it seems unlikely that they'd want to jeopardise this loyalty. Even if Apple did launch a search engine they would still heavily rely on Google or its competitors for the advertising revenue they can provide. All this leads industry insiders to ask if Apple would really want to invest so much in search.
TechCrunch apparently received multiple reports about the possibility of Apple dabbling in search, but for now the news site remains unconvinced. However, the very fact that rumours have been so persistent has been enough to make them, and search fans across the board, wonder if there could be a kernel of truth in there. Maybe Apple is on track to shake up the way it uses Google, rather than trying to supplant the Mountain View giants altogether.
