[OSM-talk] TeleAtlas/Google deal

[Richard Fairhurst]

 From  
http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4449-Tele-AtlasGoogle-Deal-TA-Gets-User-Generated-Markups.html  
:


MONDAY, JUNE 30. 2008

Tele Atlas/Google Deal: TA Gets User Generated Markups

Update 2:It's not exclusive: "TeleAtlas already has an agreement with  
Google for which details aren't available. The new agreement is  
non-exclusive, Titiular said." (CNN)

Update: This from Ed Parsons at Google: "This does not include Map  
Maker contributions." Thanks for the quick reply Ed!

---

Per C|net:

Under the new agreement--financial terms were not disclosed--Tele  
Atlas will provide maps and "dynamic content" for Google Maps in over  
200 countries as well as other Google geographic divisions like Google  
Earth and Google Maps for Mobile, and future Google projects that  
could require mapping data. Tele Atlas, in turn, will have access to  
annotations that Google Maps users have added to the system.

Exactly what annotations? The PR says:
The agreement also gives Tele Atlas access to edits for its maps from  
Google's community of users, whose suggested changes can help  
thecompany further increase the quality and richness of Tele Atlas maps.

It's not clear if this means the Map Maker contributions and or the  
"moved addresses." Hopefully, someone in the know can clarify. If Map  
Maker turns out to be something effective, that is, something that  
creates "good" data in timely fashion, this could be a boon to TA's  
(TomTom's) data stores. It would mean that others who license TA data  
would benefit from Google's mapmaking fanbase, along TomTom's map  
updating MapShare fanbase. Those are two potentially large, worldwide  
free data collecting groups. If TomTom is smart, it already thinking  
about how to engage the OpenStreetMap crew as well.

One other question: Is the sharing of the markup exclusive to TA? Or  
will Google do a similar deal with NAVTEQ/Nokia? I'm thinking not.