Tele Atlas

Highly accurate maps and location content help Maporama’s B-to-B customers deliver richer navigation experiences

Gent, Belgium and Paris, 10 March 2010 —Tele Atlas, the world leader in high quality digital maps and dynamic content, and Maporama Solutions, a leading French based provider of digital mapping solutions for professional users, have announced a multi-year agreement whereby Maporama Solutions will use Tele Atlas’ global maps and location content to power its range of professional digital mapping solutions. Maporama products covered under the agreement include the Maporama GeoPlatform, the Maporama MarketPlace Locator and the Maporama GeoDashboard.

Maporama Solutions offers mobile and web services and solutions to business-to-business customers around the world. By customizing map information to combine the strengths of geographical information and business intelligence, Maporama Solutions enables end-users to find stores or places closest to them. For example, Maporama Solutions works with the AXA Group to provide worldwide geolocation services for all corporate sites in the group to help employees optimize trips and minimize cost. Working with the Accor Group, Maporama Solutions enables map-based hotel reservations systems, transforming the map into a really efficient sales channel.

Peter van der Fluit, Senior Vice President of Tele Atlas said, “We are pleased to be selected by Maporama Solutions to strengthen its online mapping tools and solutions for the enterprise with high-quality maps and location content. This new relationship allows Tele Atlas to further extend its leadership position in the European internet market, where many of the best online mapping services already leverage Tele Atlas maps.”

Maporama Solutions’ CEO Jean-Luc Pétorin stated, “We have chosen Tele Atlas because of its ability to support and meet our business needs and its innovative global product portfolio. With Tele Atlas content powering our solutions, we can offer our customers the best possible location tools and content to enhance their business operations today and in the future.”

About Tele Atlas

Tele Atlas is the licensing business unit of TomTom N.V. (AEX: TOM2), the world’s leading provider of location and navigation solutions. Tele Atlas delivers the digital maps and dynamic content that power some of the world’s most essential navigation, location-based services (LBS) and enterprises. Through a combination of its own products and partnerships, Tele Atlas offers digital map coverage of more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. Tele Atlas maps rate highest in terms of quality and reliability in certified tests. They are updated daily with the insight of a community of millions of GPS system users worldwide, who along with the company’s unmatched network of sources help to track and validate changes in real time. For more information, visit www.teleatlas.com. Follow Tele Atlas on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TeleAtlas  or become a fan at www.facebook.com/TeleAtlas

About Maporama Solutions

Maporama Solutions, headquartered in Paris, France, is a global provider of geocentric mapping solutions and services, offering solutions that combine the power of data with the visual impact of mapping that data. The company’s MarketPlace Locator and GeoDashboard solutions help speed up decision-making and optimize resource allocation for businesses. Maporama Solutions delivers its services 24/7 from a hosting platform within a Saas infrastructure, using one of the most detailed and comprehensive map coverage on the market. Maporama Solutions works with over 200 customers worldwide, including Accor, Europcar, MMA, IKEA, ING and L’Oréal. For more information, visit www.maporama.com

Tele Atlas and the Tele Atlas logo are registered trademarks of Tele Atlas.

iPhone directions to the Football World Cup Stadiums

~ TomTom HD Traffic and Local Search Powered by Google among New Features Coming Soon ~

CeBIT, Germany – 2 March 2010 – A number of new services and features are coming soon to the TomTom app for iPhone, including TomTom HD Traffic for real-time traffic speed and incident reports, and Local Search powered by Google. The latest update to the TomTom app for iPhone (version 1.3), which has been submitted to Apple for review, will offer these and other soon-to-be-announced enhancements to ensure an optimal, and even more intuitive, navigation experience.

“TomTom is fully committed to offering TomTom app users the services and features they demand most,” said Tom Murray, vice president of market development for TomTom Inc. “The latest update to the TomTom app for iPhone offer our highly sought-after real-time traffic service option, enhanced point-of-interest search capabilities and a wide range of other features.”

TomTom on the iPhone

Have you downloaded the TomTom iPhone application yet? If you have  - you are not alone!!

Over 100,000 copies of the TomTom iPhone app have been downloaded, the company claims in its latest quarterly results. The title is one of the more expensive ones at the App Store, currently costing at least $60 in a US-only edition. It does however supply functions not available in Google Maps, namely turn-by-turn instructions.

The downloads have contributed to a profit of over $99.2 million in TomTom’s fourth quarter, in stark contrast with the same quarter a year ago, when it lost more than $1.3 billion as result of debt from buying map producer Tele Atlas. Still more problems lie ahead, as comparable GPS apps are now being offered for free on some phones by Google and Nokia. The Google app, Maps Navigation, could become available for the iPhone later this year pending a firmware update.

“The industry we operate in is going through substantial change,” notes TomTom’s CEO, Harold Goddijn. “Increasingly, digital maps are being deployed in the battle for mobile phone screens, either via smartphone or mobile Internet applications.”

Goddijn insists however that the free apps are unlikely to affect TomTom profits, and that some opportunities may come through new partnerships and business models in the mobile realm. The executive has not elaborated on such statements, but the company could easily sell its maps and/or technology to various smartphone makers and carriers.

Also view:

• GPS and Road Safety
• GPS Navigation Technology and buying a GPS Device
• GPS works best in partnership with common sense

Amsterdam, 18 February 2010 – TomTom, the world’s leading provider of location and navigation solutions, announces that Peter van der Fluit will head its Licensing business unit, Tele Atlas. Peter van der Fluit will be responsible for all sales, marketing and customer support operations for the business unit, which is focused on delivering the freshest, highest quality location and navigation content and services. He reports directly to TomTom N.V. CEO Harold Goddijn.

Most recently Peter van der Fluit was CEO of Matchcode AG, a business-to-business marketing services company operating in 10 countries across Europe and the Americas. During his tenure at Matchcode, he grew the company, expanded its global operations and doubled its revenues.

Peter van der Fluit has also held senior management positions at Hewlett Packard, where he spent nearly 20 years managing sales and strategic partnerships. In his last eight years with the company, he was a Vice President in global enterprise marketing and software sales, doubling revenues for the software business unit to exceed $1 billion.

About TomTom N.V.

TomTom N.V. is the world’s leading provider of location and navigation solutions. TomTom N.V. has over 3,000 employees working in four business units – Consumer, Automotive, WORK and Licensing (Tele Atlas).

TomTom’s products are developed with an emphasis on innovation, quality, ease of use, safety and value. TomTom’s products include all-in-one navigation devices which enable customers to navigate right out of the box; additionally, independent research proves that TomTom products have a significant positive effect on driving and road safety.

The business unit Automotive develops and sells navigation systems and services to car manufacturers and OEMs. WORK combines industry leading communication and smart navigation technology with leading edge tracking and tracing expertise. Licensing (Tele Atlas) delivers the digital maps and dynamic content that power some of the world’s most essential location and navigation solutions. Through a combination of its own products and partnerships, Tele Atlas offers digital map coverage of more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.

TomTom N.V. was founded in 1991 in Amsterdam and has offices in Europe, North America, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. TomTom is listed at Euronext Amsterdam in The Netherlands. For more information, go to www.tomtom.com

Barcelona, Mobile World Congress, 16 February 2010 

Tele Atlas the world leader in high quality digital maps and dynamic content, and TeleNav, Inc., one of the largest wireless navigation service providers in North America, have announced a renewed multi-year license agreement whereby TeleNav uses Tele Atlas maps and dynamic content to power a range of wireless navigation applications and its connected personal navigation device. The agreement marks an extension of the companies’ current partnership, which began in 2006.

Though the agreement, Tele Atlas maps are featured in TeleNav-powered navigation services, internet applications and applications designed for the automotive industry. TeleNav mobile navigation powered by Tele Atlas is available for end users with multiple wireless carriers in the U.S. and via major handset manufacturers. Also, as announced last month, all Ford vehicles sold in North America equipped with the new premium navigation option for MyFord Touch driver connect technology feature SD card navigation, which is supplied by TeleNav with Tele Atlas maps and location content. The same Tele Atlas maps of North America that power these applications and products were recently rated highest for quality and reliability in certified tests.

“We are committed to providing our customers with a reliable and stress-free experience,” said HP Jin, president, CEO and co-founder of TeleNav. “There is nothing worse than getting the wrong directions from a navigation service that uses unproven and untested map data. We have worked with Tele Atlas over the years because of the company’s ongoing focus and commitment to excellence and its ability to enhance maps with community input and innovative location-based content.”

“We are very pleased to extend our longstanding relationship with TeleNav, a key player in LBS and mobile resource management,” said Peter van der Fluit, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Tele Atlas. “TeleNav is focused on delivering a mobile experience that enables consumers to be efficient in their personal lives and businesses to improve the productivity of their mobile staff. Tele Atlas is uniquely positioned to support TeleNav’s commitment to this experience and further expand its offerings into new markets.”

The extended agreement gives TeleNav access to Tele Atlas’ digital map content and products, including more than 12 million points of interest (POIs), precise Address Points, 3D Landmarks and 2D City Maps, which give users maps that more closely reflect their surroundings. The agreement also provides TeleNav access to Voice Maps, which enable text-to-speech guidance with verbal instructions and turn-by-turn spoken street names.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

About Tele Atlas

Tele Atlas delivers the digital maps and dynamic content that power many of the world’s most essential navigation and location-based services (LBS). Through a combination of its own products and partnerships, Tele Atlas offers map coverage of more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. The company was founded in 1984 and has offices in 27 countries around the world. Today, Tele Atlas maps are developed with the insight of a community of millions of GPS system users worldwide, who are adding to the company’s unmatched network of sources to track and validate changes in real time, and deliver the best digital maps and dynamic content. For more information, visit www.teleatlas.com  or http://investors.tomtom.com/index.cfm . Tele Atlas is a subsidiary of TomTom N.V. (AEX: TOM2).

About TeleNav Inc.

TeleNav, Inc. is a leading provider of location based services, or LBS, including voice guided navigation, on mobile phones. TeleNav’s LBS solutions provide consumers and enterprises with convenient and easy to use location specific, real time and personalized features and functions. TeleNav’s flexible and proprietary LBS platform enables it to efficiently provide its LBS to millions of end users, across more than 500 types of mobile phones, all major mobile phone operating systems and a broad range of wireless network protocols. TeleNav’s wireless carrier partners include Alltel, AT&T, Bell Mobility, Boost Mobile, China Mobile, Cincinnati Bell, NII Holdings, Rogers, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile UK, T-Mobile USA, Telcel, Telecom Italia Mobile, Verizon Wireless and Vivo Brazil. TeleNav’s other partners include Ford Motor Company, Hewlett-Packard, HTC, INRIX, LG, Motorola, NAVTEQ, Nokia, Palm, Qualcomm, Research In Motion, Samsung, Sanyo and Tele Atlas. TeleNav is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.

For more information on TeleNav, please visit www.telenav.com. Follow TeleNav on Twitter at www.twitter.com/telenav  or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/telenav

Barcelona, Mobile World Congress, 16 February 2010

Tele Atlas, the world leader in high quality digital maps and dynamic content, announced today that Vodafone Group, the world’s leading international mobile telecommunications company, has deployed Tele Atlas maps and location content in the recently launched Vodafone 360 – a suite of innovative internet services for the mobile and PC. Vodafone also uses Tele Atlas digital maps and location-based content across its global footprint for the company’s location-based services (LBS) and navigation offerings.

With Vodafone 360, all of a customer’s contacts, social network status updates and messaging services are brought together in one place, enhancing their experience and use of social media on their mobile device or PC. Vodafone 360 customers can also share their photos, favorite music and their physical location, how and when they choose, with the contacts in their integrated address book. In addition to these location-enabled mobile social networking and services, Vodafone 360 customers have access to Tele Atlas’ global digital map content and products, including millions of points of interest (POIs) and 2D City Maps, which provide maps that more closely reflect their surroundings.

Powered by Tele Atlas maps, Vodafone 360 “Maps and Places” features enable customers to:

• Navigate with turn-by-turn maps and voice guidance;

• Connect with friends on maps and share their locations with each other in real time so users can see each other on the map;

• Tag the location of favorite places and share with connected friends; and

• Send their location to other friends with an address and map link.

“Powerful, accurate location content and maps are a pivotal component to delivering a rich mobile experience and Tele Atlas maps enable Vodafone to deliver the high quality services and navigation that our customers demand,” said Tommy Ahlers, CEO of Location Services, Vodafone Group. “With Vodafone 360, our customers have a truly integrated mobile internet experience that gathers all their contacts and content, and enables much of it with great location information.”

“The Vodafone 360 service successfully merges the user’s world with location services to create a truly dynamic mobile experience,” said Peter van der Fluit, Tele Atlas Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “Tele Atlas’ global map and content expertise, combined with Vodafone’s industry leadership and vision, creates the ideal partnership to deliver rich, connected offerings across the broadest global footprint.”

Vodafone 360 featuring Tele Atlas maps is available in Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the UK.

About Tele Atlas

Tele Atlas delivers the digital maps and dynamic content that power many of the world’s most essential navigation and location-based services (LBS). Through a combination of its own products and partnerships, Tele Atlas offers map coverage of more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. The company was founded in 1984 and has offices in 27 countries around the world. Today, Tele Atlas maps are developed with the insight of a community of millions of GPS system users worldwide, who are adding to the company’s unmatched network of sources to track and validate changes in real time, and deliver the best digital maps and dynamic content. For more information, visit www.teleatlas.com  or http://investors.tomtom.com/index.cfm .Tele Atlas is a subsidiary of TomTom N.V. (AEX: TOM2).

Barcelona, Mobile World Congress, 16 February 2010

The most complete map of South Africa now has the features World Cup Soccer fans want; free APIs to help application developers deliver the best mobile and web applications

Barcelona, Mobile World Congress, and Irene, South-Africa, 16 February 2010— With World Cup Soccer on the horizon, digital maps and dynamic content leader Tele Atlas is now offering its customers a World Cup Soccer-ready digital map of South Africa. The special version of the company’s MultiNet map database includes all roads in South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland, as well as accurate details covering the nine host cities in South Africa. It is the map fans need to find everything they want, from restaurants, hotels and bars to the fastest routes around regulated traffic zones near event locations.

Danny Grobben, General Manager, Tele Atlas South Africa said “The special map release allows our navigation and local search partners to deliver solutions for an enjoyable, hassle-free World Cup experience. With Tele Atlas content as the foundation, mobile and in car navigation products will help people avoid temporary road closures, find the best walking route to stadiums and see just where they are using Tele Atlas 3D landmarks or detailed Tele Atlas 2D city maps. Our addition of Tele Atlas Voice Maps enables speech recognition technologies on navigation devices and provides better voice output.”

To help developers create applications in time for the competition, Mandali Khalesi, Senior Product Manager at Tele Atlas explained, “Tele Atlas plans to offer special World Cup Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). Using these standard web interfaces, developers can access the freshest maps and dynamic content to create and deliver navigation and local search applications for the World Cup. With our APIs, developers can build the best apps that help their web and mobile end users find whatever they need during the competition.”

Tele Atlas is the only map company offering complete coverage of the street network in South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland, including more than 700,000 kilometers of roads and 240,000 points of interest (POIs). The special World Cup version adds 12,000 kilometers of new roads with speed restriction, signpost and lane information. It also offers World Cup Soccer specific information such as:

• Fan park POIs, areas where people gather to support specific teams with big screens and special events;

• Park and Ride, car parking points around the stadiums where fans can take public transport to and from the stadium gates;

• Security check zones, specific places around stadium entrances where security checks will take place;

• Stadium gate information and pedestrian routes; and

• Regulated traffic zones to show temporary closures during competitions.

For the first time, the new MultiNet release also contains more than 50 3D landmarks and landmark icons of important buildings and stadiums across the host cities, helping visitors to see exactly where they are and to easily find services. Among the landmarks are all of the stadiums where matches will be played: Peter Mokaba Stadium, Mbombela Stadium, Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Ellis Park Stadium, Free State Stadium, Durban Stadium, Nelson Mandela Stadium, Green Point Stadium, Loftus Versfeld Stadium and Soccer City Stadium. To see sample images of these landmarks, go to www.teleatlaspresskit.com .

Also included in this product release are Tele Atlas Advanced City Models of Johannesburg, Cape Town Pretoria and other metropolitan areas, offering three-dimensional representations of cities that dramatically raise the clarity and reality of screen images within in-car and portable navigation systems and mobile devices.

About Tele Atlas
Tele Atlas delivers the digital maps and dynamic content that power many of the world’s most essential navigation and location-based services (LBS). Through a combination of its own products and partnerships, Tele Atlas offers map coverage of more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. The company was founded in 1984 and has offices in 27 countries around the world. Today, Tele Atlas maps are developed with the insight of a community of millions of GPS system users worldwide, who are adding to the company’s unmatched network of sources to track and validate changes in real time, and deliver the best digital maps and dynamic content. For more information, visit www.teleatlas.com  or http://investors.tomtom.com/index.cfm .Tele Atlas is a subsidiary of TomTom N.V. (AEX: TOM2).

Also view:

• Road Safety advice for foreigners travelling through South Africa
• Route Planner and Planning your trip in South Africa
• Road Safety towards 2010 
• GPS and Road Safety
• How to handle an emergency
• Guide to Safety and Driving on Safari  

Barcelona, Mobile World Congress, February 15, 2010 – Tele Atlas, the world leader in high quality digital maps and dynamic content, and TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. (TCS) (NASDAQ: TSYS), a world leader in high availability and secure mobile communication technology, announced an expanded agreement through which TCS will have access to Tele Atlas’ comprehensive global maps to power its range of wireless offerings.

Since 1999, Tele Atlas and TCS have collaborated to enable powerful location-enhanced applications, including location-based wireless and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Enhanced 9-1-1 (E-9-1-1) services and commercial location applications. More than 140 million people in the United States rely on TCS E-9-1-1 solutions, which are designed to enable voice service providers to supply the same level of emergency services as wireless and traditional landline providers. The same Tele Atlas maps of North America that power these emergency services were recently rated highest for quality and reliability in certified tests.

“Our customers rely on accurate location content for their products and services, which is the very best foundation for helping customers grow in the wireless and LBS markets,” said Doug Antone, Senior Vice President of Navigation and Telematics for TCS. “Tele Atlas has been a key partner for us for more than a decade and we value the company’s continued commitment to our success. Our expanded relationship ensures we have the freshest maps for our location-based solutions that also meet the stringent quality standards our mission-critical applications demand.”

“With TCS’ substantial position in the emergency services market in the U.S. and its growing presence in carrier and enterprise sectors, we are pleased that our expanded partnership can continue to power mission critical, LBS and navigation offerings with accurate location information around the world,” said Jude McColgan, Vice President of Consumer Markets, Tele Atlas.

About Tele Atlas

Tele Atlas delivers the digital maps and dynamic content that power many of the world’s most essential navigation and location-based services (LBS). Through a combination of its own products and partnerships, Tele Atlas offers map coverage of more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. The company was founded in 1984 and has offices in 27 countries around the world. Today, Tele Atlas products are developed with the insight of a community of millions of digital map users worldwide, who are adding to the company’s unmatched network of sources to track and validate changes in real time, and deliver the best digital maps and dynamic content. For more information, visit www.teleatlas.com or http://investors.tomtom.com/index.cfm . Tele Atlas is a subsidiary of TomTom N.V. (AEX: TOM2).

About TeleCommunication Systems, Inc.

TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. (TCS) (NASDAQ: TSYS) is a world leader in high availability and secure mobile communication technology. TCS infrastructure forms the foundation for market leading solutions in E9-1-1, text messaging, commercial location and deployable wireless communications. TCS is at the forefront of new mobile cloud computing services providing wireless applications for navigation, hyper-local search, asset tracking, social applications and telematics. Millions of consumers around the world use TCS wireless apps as a fundamental part of their daily lives. Federal government agencies depend on TCS’ cyber security expertise, professional services, and highly secure deployable satellite solutions for mission-critical communications. Headquartered in Annapolis, MD, TCS maintains technical, service and sales offices around the world. To learn more about emerging and innovative wireless technologies, visit www.telecomsys.com

[Information from Tele Atlas]

Can GPS navigation devices help sport spectators to arrive alive at sports stadiums in foreign countries? I have come across an interesting story on SPORTStechy about the Winter Olympics and how the mapping software of TomTom is assisting thousands of spectators. I would like to qioute from this story:

“For those of us who live in the Metro Vancouver area, Olympics-related road closures are just part of the inconveniences we have to put up with being in the hosted city/region. That’s on top of the usual chaos resulting from accidents like on or in the bridges and the one tunnel that connect the sprawling cities with the key outlying transportation hubs e.g. Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and BC Ferries at Horseshoe Bay and Tsawwassen, and with the U.S. border.

Fortunately there is a tool, dressed for a limited time in our patriotic red-and-white colours (no misprint, that’s how we spell it) that can help us and those visiting to get to where we and they need to go and that’s the TomTom EASE. The TomTom EASE, TomTom’s newest entry-level car navigation solution that was introduced at CES (News - Alert) 2010, combines even greater ease-of-use with quality navigation at a very affordable price – making it the ideal gift (and ‘presouvenir’) for drivers everywhere. That includes in the Greater Toronto Area that even on a good day motoring is nightmarish (I used to live in Ontario and loathed having to drive or through Toronto).

The TomTom (News - Alert) EASE features a sleek, light-weight design and integrated EasyPort mount, making it the most compact TomTom device available. Drivers can easily fit the entire device and attached mount into a pocket, purse or small glove compartment. The unit has an improved user interface which offers a simple two-icon touchscreen menu that provides quick access to search tools so that users can get started on their destination even faster.

TomTom’s proprietary IQ Routes™ Technology enables users to always drive the smartest and most efficient routes, whenever or wherever they go. IQ Routes Technology calculates routes based on historical speed measurements for every time of day and for every road segment, from large highways to small local roads. Additionally, with TomTom Map Share™, users can modify their own maps and benefit from other verified changes.

Recent quality tests show that the Tele Atlas (News - Alert) maps of Canada that come pre-installed in the red and white TomTom EASE product rate highest in terms of quality and reliability, reports the company. In every market tested in Canada, including Vancouver, the Tele Atlas maps rate highest for having the most addresses, the most POIs and the most accurate routes. Tele Atlas quality testing uses a process certified by the TÜV SÜD, a leading global testing and inspection organization with 14,000 experts providing consulting, testing, certification and training services at more than 600 locations in Europe, North America and Asia.

(Here’s some general traffic hints for Vancouver from/to south of the city: avoid taking the Massey Tunnel on Highway 99 inbound from mid afternoon and outbound in the morning weekday rush as the tunnel takes one lane and makes it contraflow. Take Highway 91 and the Alex Fraser Bridge instead. The backups going into Vancouver and towards YVR can be horrendous as the traffic from the ferries i.e. Highway 17 merges with Highway 99 at the tunnel. Also, use the Highway 15-truck crossing for the U.S. instead of Highway 99/Peace Arch. There is a connecting road, 8th Avenue, linking Highway 99 with Highway 15 just north of the border.)

TomTom EASE is designed with safety features so that drivers always have direct access to extensive safety and roadside assistance information wherever they go. The extensive ‘Help Me!’ Menu includes information such as the way to the nearest car repair station or hospital.

“What better way to show Canadian pride this February in Vancouver than by using the red and white TomTom EASE,” said Spike Bloom, vice president retail sales for TomTom Inc. “Besides being easy to use, The TomTom EASE provides the most intelligent routes and the highest quality maps available in Canada.”

[Brendan B. Read is TMCnet’s Senior Contributing Editor. Edited by Marisa Torrieri]

Also view:

TomTom and GPS to help spectators arrive safely at World Cup 2010 stadiums!

AMSTERDAM, Feb 09, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — TomTom (AEX:TOM2), the world’s leading provider of navigation solutions and digital maps, today announces that it is expanding into Morocco. TomTom is entering the market with two products: the mid-range TomTom XL (including maps from Morocco and Europe) and the entry-level TomTom Start (including maps from Morocco). The products will be distributed by MCI, a leading distributor in Africa, and sold through major consumer electronics retailers across Morocco.

“With over two million cars on the road every day, Morocco is a country with great potential for us, making it a logical next step in our expansion strategy in North Africa,” says Frederic Langin, TomTom’s Vice President Sales France Middle East North Africa. “We are confident that we will become the leader in navigation here, just as we are in other countries.”

From today, the new Moroccan TomTom website is live at http://www.tomtom.com/index.php?Lid=49 , featuring extensive information about products and services available in Morocco.

Ease of use All TomTom products are developed in-house and are plug & play, which means that they can be used straight out of the box without having to read any instruction manuals. They feature a touch screen with an award-winning intuitive navigation menu and icons in French with voice instructions in Arabic Darija. Clear voice instructions ensure drivers get to their destination without stress. A smartly designed EasyPort(TM) mount ensures easy stowing and carrying.

Maps, Map Share(TM) and free map updates Tele Atlas, a world leading digital map provider and part of the TomTom Group, provides the maps of Morocco. In addition to a pre-installed European and Moroccan map, TomTom will provide customers of the TomTom XL and TomTom Start with two full years of free map updates, offering every released map version for free.

The world’s road infrastructure changes up to 15% each year and in fast developing countries even up to 40% per year. TomTom Map Share is a free map improvement technology which allows drivers to easily improve their maps directly on the device as soon as they spot changes in the roads, with just a few touches on the screen. These can include changes in street names, road speed limits, turn restrictions, traffic directions and road blocks, as well as corrections to Points of Interest, such as phone number changes. In addition, Map Share users can also benefit from changes made by others, validated by TomTom and shared through the free desktop software TomTom HOME.

Safety as a priority Research institutions including the leading US research institute Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and research institute TNO in the Netherlands have proven that satellite navigation has a positive influence on driving behaviour and traffic safety. In addition, driving with a navigation device increases driver’s alertness and reduces stress levels. Safety is a key priority in the development of all TomTom products with all TomTom devices having comprehensive safety features, like a Help Me! emergency menu.

TomTom HOME All TomTom users have access to TomTom HOME, TomTom’s free desktop software for PC or Mac, which will be fully available in French. Through TomTom HOME, customers can easily download new software versions, voices, free user-generated content, or the latest maps to keep their device up to date.

Availability TomTom products will be available in stores across Morocco starting late February 2010.

Map coverage in Morocco: The detailed map of Morocco, created by Tele Atlas, includes over 67,000 km of roads, including Morocco’s largest cities such as Casablanca, Rabat, Tangier, Marrakech and Agadir. It also has thousands of Points of Interest.

- ENDS –

About TomTom TomTom NV (AEX:TOM2) is the world’s leading provider of navigation solutions and digital maps. TomTom NV has over 3,300 employees working in four business units — TomTom, Tele Atlas, Automotive and WORK.

TomTom’s products are developed with an emphasis on innovation, quality, ease of use, safety and value. TomTom’s products include all-in-one navigation devices which enable customers to navigate right out of the box; these are the award-winning TomTom GO family, the TomTom XL and TomTom ONE ranges and the TomTom RIDER. Additionally, independent research proves that TomTom products have a significant positive effect on driving and road safety.

Tele Atlas delivers the digital maps and dynamic content that power some of the world’s most essential navigation and location-based services (LBS). Through a combination of its own products and partnerships, Tele Atlas offers digital map coverage of more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. The Automotive business unit develops and sells navigation systems and services to car manufacturers and OEMs. TomTom WORK combines industry leading communication and smart navigation technology with leading edge tracking and tracing expertise.

TomTom NV was founded in 1991 in Amsterdam and has offices in Europe, North America, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. TomTom is listed at Euronext Amsterdam in The Netherlands. For more information, go to www.tomtom.com.

SOURCE: TomTom NV