On-line mapping becoming a very lively field
As anticipated, the European Commission today gave unconditional clearance for satnav maker TomTom to acquire its main map supplier, Tele Atlas. Clearance from the US authorities was received in October 2007.
“TomTom Map Share enables TomTom’s installed base of nearly 20 million to contribute to digital map creation and maintenance,” said the two companies’ joint press release. “TomTom IQ Routes adds to the map routing information based on the actual speeds driven on roads.”
“TomTom HD Traffic real time information can be overlaid on map data to further enhance the quality of routing and traffic information,” the statement continued. “Better maps, produced more efficiently and updated more frequently, will benefit all current and future customers of Tele Atlas.”
It remains to be seen how the new combination will cope with competition from Nokia’s acquisition of Navteq, Tele Atlas’s main rival in global map making. Spicing the issue up further is yesterday’s announcement by the head of Google Earth and Google Maps that the company has opened outside access to its Geo Search API.
