Looks like Garmin is pulling the old switch-a-roo on TomTom. Two months after TomTom announced it's intent to acquire mapping provider Tele Atlas for $2.7 billion (and just 29 days after Nokia agreed to purchase mapping company NAVTEQ for $8.1 billion), Garmin has upped the ante and offered $3.3 billion for Tele Atlas. Garmin plans to launch the offer before December 4, 2007 (the scheduled expiry date of TomTom's offer).
Continue reading "Garmin Makes Cash Offer for Tele Atlas, Pulls Rug Out From Under TomTom" »
What would that mean in terms of updating maps on Garmin devices with Navteq maps?
Wow! The fight is really on. Go Garmin...
I sold all my Garmin stock today. It dropped 11% in value today. Face it, Navteq was the company Garmin should have bought and they blew it. Now, Tom Tom will raise their bid for Tele Atlas. TA shareholders prefer to be bought by Tom Tom as per stories I read online today. Both are European companies and would merge nicely together. If Garmin buys TA it will undoubtedly overpay for the company. That's never a good thing for shareholders or customers.
Fletch, if Garmin goes the TeleAtlas route, will you finally change your tune about their "inferior" map data?
Your biggest complaints about TomTom have always been bad (TA) maps and you laud Garmin and Navteq's superiority. I guess Garmin thinks favorably enough about TeleAtlas's product to buy them, huh?
John,
I'll put it to you this way: If TeleAtlas, under Garmin, still gives me a host of "Unnamed Road" as TomTom units do, my next purchase won't be a Garmin.
Yes, currently TeleAtlas maps are inferior in the U.S.
NOOOOOOO!!!! Garmin, PLEASE stay away from TeleAtlas!!!!
TeleAtlas maps ARE inferior to Navteq, at least here in North America. My brother just purchased a TeleAtlas-equipped TomTom Go 720. He lives in a subdivision that is 10 years old, yet his entire subdivision (let alone the street he lives on) doesn't appear on the 720. Neither does the street my other brother lives on, which has existed for 13 years! Of the three of us, only the street I live on is in the 720, and MY street has only existed for 5 years! Go figure. And this is in an area of Metro Atlanta, Georgia (a significantly large population center). Needless to say, my brother has returned his Go 720.
On the other hand, my four year old Garmin iQue 3600, powered by Navteq, HAD my street from the very beginning, and my street had only been in existence for one year when I purchased it. To ME, that says a lot about the accuracy of Navteq, and the inaccuracy (and therefore inferiority) of TeleAtlas.
I love my Garmins. I've had an iQue 3600, a c550, and have just purchased a Nuvi 760. But if Garmin purchases and starts using TeleAtlas data, then the Nuvi 760 will be the LAST Garmin I ever purchase. I would MUCH rather Garmin strike a deal with Nokia to allow them to continue using Navteq data, and leave TeleAtlas to someone else.
What makes everyone so certain that Navteq or Tele Atlas will be acquired by the companies without being subjected to regulatory conditions???
The editors are also wrongly assuming that the parent companies will be stupid enough to deny data access to competitors.
Doing so will only force the competitors to find a solution to a previously non-existing problem... and giving another business entity to the opportunity to get into the business of mapping.
It can possibly be more profitable for the parent company to reserve certain data for itself (ie. latest best maps) so it can give out free constant updates, whiling financing the map updates by licensing annual map updates to competitors.
Garmin should have bought navtek a long time ago. Buying Teleatlas would be jumping the shark for sure.
Wow, what becomes of the current Garmins if/when Nokia decides to BOOT them off the system?