TomTom powers Apple Maps on iOS 6

TomTom has issued a brief statement that it has signed a global licensing agreement with Apple for “maps and related information.” The company is not providing any further details about what all will be included in the agreement. Yesterday Apple announced it is booting out Google Maps and is going with its own map and navigation service.
TomTom already has navigation deals signed with RIM and HTC. It provides mapping data for 200 countries. The company also provides turn-by-turn navigation in most of these countries and also has points of interests mapped. In some countries TomTom also provides live traffic updates.
Apple is claiming its new maps will also provide all these services and much more. It looks like Apple could have taken all this data on top of its own maps for iOS 6. Who knows, if the two hit it off, TomTom could be an acquisition target for Apple considering how crucial location and navigation services have become for smartphones these days. Nokia did it with Navteq a few years ago and we won’t be surprised if Apple did the same.