Trapster.com

Nine million users have downloaded Trapster apps, which translates into a lot of crowd-sourced data for NAVTEQ. The existing Trapster service will apparently remain intact, but I’m betting we’ll see it integrated into other NAVTEQ offerings in the future.

Via All Points Blog

I asked a source at Magellan about the switchover recently and their somewhat cryptic answer, combined with the wording in today’s news release, leads me to believe that the company may continue to use NAVTEQ maps in their new eXplorist handheld line. On the auto side, there’s no word on when we’ll see Tele Atlas maps preloaded on new devices, although it should be soon since some updates are already incorporating them.

Here’s the full news release:

MiTAC International Corporation Extends Global Agreement with Tele Atlas to Power PND Brands Mio, Navman and Magellan

Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Taipei, Taiwan, 11 November 2010 – Tele Atlas, a world leader in high quality digital maps and dynamic content, today announces an extension of the global agreement with MiTAC International Corporation, a leading worldwide supplier of Portable Navigation Devices (PND). This marks an extension of the companies’ longstanding relationship for Mio and Navman products; it also covers an additional partnership with Magellan branded products.

Through the agreement, Mio, Navman and Magellan products, including PND, PND TV, Mobile Navigation Application and Mobile Internet Devices (MID), will leverage Tele Atlas’ global digital maps and location content and products. This will include Tele Atlas’ navigable map data for over 100 countries, 32 million kilometers of roads and more than 26 million of points of interest (POIs), as well as map enhancement products such as 3D Landmarks and Voice Maps.

Maarten van Gool, Managing Director of Tele Atlas, comments: “We are pleased to strengthen our global relationship with MiTAC International Corporation and to enable Magellan, Mio and Navman brands to deliver innovative technologies across all regions. With this agreement, Tele Atlas maps and content will power the PND’s of the leading players in the world and will bring mobility, navigation and quality to an ever-growing audience.”

“This renewed global agreement marks an extension of our longstanding, successful collaboration. We have chosen Tele Atlas maps to power the Magellan, Mio and Navman brands. We rely on Tele Atlas’ continued track record of innovation, expertise and dedication to quality for the car navigation and PND sectors. With unique offerings like Speed Profiles, the MiTAC brands can enhance routing functionality for our users around the world for a more powerful navigation experience,” said Kevin Chuang, President of MiTAC’s Brand Business Unit.

NAVTEQ is rolling out a new form of 3-D junction displays for complex, multi-level interchanges. Dubbed Motorway Junction Objects, the imagery has yet to show up on any manufactured devices, so we don’t know when you’re likely to see this on Garmin’s Junction View. Heck, we just wish the first-generation NAVTEQ junction imagery would make it beyond a handful of cities.

Via NYT.