APPS
APPS
APPS
Huawei strikes deal with TomTom to use its map services
China’s Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. is working with the Dutch mapping company TomTom N.V. to put maps and location services on its smartphones, Reuters reported Friday.
Huawei has been banned from using parts of Google LLC’s Android operating system on its most recent phones after being placed on an “Entity list” by the U.S. Department of Commerce last year. The ban on doing business with Huawei was imposed in May following suspicions that the firm has close ties with the Chinese government and therefore represents a threat to U.S. national security.
As a result, Huawei’s latest phones can’t use key apps and services such as the Google Play Store, YouTube or Google Maps.
That has forced the Chinese company to try to come up with its own apps and services to replace those provided by Google, and to do so it’s reaching out to companies and developers from outside the U.S.
The partnership with TomTom comes after Huawei launched a campaign in London last week to encourage developers to build apps for Huawei Mobile Services, which is an alternative to Google Mobile Services, and is offering financial incentives for them to do so. Huawei also announced a similar initiative in India late last year.
TomTom’s mapping technology is already available through dedicated apps on both Android and iOS. The company says its software can process up to 2 million map changes per hour in 164 countries.
The company’s software is mostly used by vehicle manufacturers, including companies such as Subaru Corp., Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. and Hitachi Ltd., and also provides information such as economical route-planning, speed limits, speed camera locations and the likelihood of roadblocks, none of which are available globally through Google Maps.
“This is a big opportunity for TomTom to get back into the smartphone business, which was a battle the vendor had lost,” said Constellation Research Inc. analyst Holger Mueller. “It’s a good example of how regulation can tip the scale on markets, and also an example of how consumers may suffer with an offering that’s not up to par. Now it’s up to TomTom to grab the opportunity and convince Huawei smartphone users they can compete with Google Maps.”
Photo: TomTom/Facebook
A message from John Furrier, co-founder of SiliconANGLE:
Support our mission to keep content open and free by engaging with theCUBE community. Join theCUBE’s Alumni Trust Network, where technology leaders connect, share intelligence and create opportunities.
- 15M+ viewers of theCUBE videos, powering conversations across AI, cloud, cybersecurity and more
- 11.4k+ theCUBE alumni — Connect with more than 11,400 tech and business leaders shaping the future through a unique trusted-based network.
About SiliconANGLE Media
SiliconANGLE Media is a recognized leader in digital media innovation, uniting breakthrough technology, strategic insights and real-time audience engagement. As the parent company of SiliconANGLE, theCUBE Network, theCUBE Research, CUBE365, theCUBE AI and theCUBE SuperStudios — with flagship locations in Silicon Valley and the New York Stock Exchange — SiliconANGLE Media operates at the intersection of media, technology and AI.
Founded by tech visionaries John Furrier and Dave Vellante, SiliconANGLE Media has built a dynamic ecosystem of industry-leading digital media brands that reach 15+ million elite tech professionals. Our new proprietary theCUBE AI Video Cloud is breaking ground in audience interaction, leveraging theCUBEai.com neural network to help technology companies make data-driven decisions and stay at the forefront of industry conversations.
