Huawei has signed a deal with Dutch navigation and digital mapping company TomTom on 17 January 2020. The deal will enable the Chinese tech giant to implement the latter’s maps, traffic information and navigation software to develop apps for its smartphones.
Reuters reports that the signing was confirmed by TomTom spokesman Remco Meerstra, and he added that the deal had been closed a while back but was not announced publicly by the company. It is also reported that the Dutch company is shifting away from selling navigational devices and are now focusing on its digital mapping software.
Ever since the company was blacklisted by the US from using Google Mobile Services (GMS) in their products, Huawei has been seeking several alternatives to replace Google related applications and services such as Play Store and Maps. However, the chinese company was able to maintain using Google’s Android operating software on its devices, thanks to its status as an open-source system.
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They’ve then developed the Huawei App Gallery as an alternative storefront and distribution platform for applications from first party and registered developers, and will most likely create its own GPS navigation app based on TomTom’s software and technologies. Other than confirming the deal, both parties have not commented further on the full details of the agreement.
(Source: Reuters | Images: TomTom, Wikimedia.)
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