Transit App HopStop Disappears From Windows Phones After Apple Buys The Company
Even those who had already downloaded HopStop for Windows Phone are out of luck, John Paczkowski of AllThingsD reports. When you open up the app, it reads "HopStop no longer supports the Windows platform."
Apple is remaining tight-lipped about the situation. But it doesn't seem that Apple is totally cutting off competing smartphone platforms, given that HopStop is still available for Android.
It's not entirely clear as to why Apple would do this, but some people are speculating in the reviews section of the app online.
"I'm not surprised that (cr)Apple has deactivated this app," user Phil writes. "They know that the only advantage they have over Windows Phone is in the number of apps they have in their app store. They will do anything they can to lower our app count because if (and when) the Windows Phone store catches up to Apple's app store, some of their customers may actually start choosing phones based on hardware quality."
Apple likely bought HopStop to use the service's data to imporve its own mapping application for iPhones and iPads. Apple's Maps app does not have public transportation data, so the HopStop acquisition will likely help Apple add that functionality later.