Supplying maps and other data is a large part of TomTom's business.

Now in the hands of TomTom, it's no surprise that Apple would want to license access to a digital base map, rather than set about mapping the globe itself. Tele Atlas was the supplier of digital maps to a number of different mapping clients, including Google for Google Maps, before the launch of free Google Maps Navigation on Android. In 2008 TomTom bought the mapping service Tele Atlas. It isn't about the black boxes (PNDs) stuck to your windscreen, it's all about the content of those devices - the maps and the services - all of which are software driven.

The first thing to note is that TomTom is a software company. However, we spent a good portion of last week with TomTom, learning how the company builds its maps, which may give us something of an insight into this new announcement. There are some important points to consider about TomTom's business and we shouldn't be surprised about its involvement with Apple.

Aside from the announcement of a licensing agreement, TomTom states explicitly that 'no further details of the agreement will be provided', so we don't know exactly what this 'other information' is.

Apple maps tomtom