What Apple's Waze acquisition will mean to iPhone users

After its bitter experience with iOS 6's integrated Maps, Apple may be considering buying social navigation app maker Waze in order to improve the faltering iOS 6 Maps.

Waze's app technology, a sort of crowd-sourced navigation app, enables users to report accidents, road closings, red light cameras, and gas prices. The service also learns how to route you depending on your usual commute time and your preferred streets.

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Rumors of talks between the two companies come just weeks after rumors that Apple may also be working on a deal to acquire or share data with social check-in service Foursquare.

Israeli website NewsGeek cited sources claiming talks between Waze and Apple are early.

Apple CEO Tim Cook recenlty appointed SVP of Internet Service Eddy Cue to take over and fix Maps' problems. Shortly thereafter, Cue posted his first Foursquare check-ins on Twitter, followed a week later by a Wall Street Journal report confirming the two companies were in early talks to integrate business location data from Foursquare.

But apparently the cash-flush Apple has already floated a $500 million price to acquire the company along with its technologies and engineers. Apple has also recently opened an engineering research center in Hafia, Israel.

Waze's crowd sourced routing data could improve Maps current directions as well as its traffic data. It could also serve as a source of up-to-date, corrected street data, sort of like a crowd sourced version of Google's Street View cars.