Is Apple cosying up to Foursquare to help fix Maps?

Well what do you know, it seems in an effort to improve its Maps app Apple has decided to partner with Foursquare. According to a Wall Street Journal report, people close to the matter claim that Apple is in early discussions to integrate local data from Foursquare Labs with its maps.

The Journal says the talks took place in “recent weeks” and involve Apple senior vice president Eddy Cue. Cue recently took over the management of Maps during the executive reshuffle of recent months.

“The discussions with New York-based Foursquare come as Apple has been talking to a number of companies that collect local data to improve its new mapping product. The Maps service, released in September, has had a rocky reception and faces fierce competition from Google,” says the Journal.

Rumours have been circling for a few days now, since Cue tweeted a check-in which was later deleted.

It makes sense that Apple is looking to the location-based service for help in improving its mapping app. The company is under considerable amount of pressure from Google since the search giant launched its maps for iOS, which saw more then 10-million downloads in the first 48 hours.

It’s not just Foursquare’s door Apple is knocking on. The company currently relies on a host of partners, from TomTom to Waze and Yelp, and has said it has listings for 100-million businesses around the world. Its current app has had more than few glitches with inaccurate directions and missing landmarks.

While Apple has fixed most of the major problems encountered with Maps, its offering is still nowhere near Google’s. A deal with Foursquare could give the company the much needed peer data that it requires to enhance its service.

Also as the Journal points out: “an Apple deal could be a boost for Foursquare, which was one of the first mobile apps to popularize checking into locations from a mobile phone.”

Foursquare currently faces its own growth challenges with sift competition from Facebook.

“The company claims more than 25-million registered users, but only about eight million of them use the app at least once a month,” reports the Journal.