Navteq acquires social navigation firm Trapster

Nokia's Navteq mapping unit has made its second acquisition in a month, this time buying Trapster, which applies crowd sourcing techniques to traffic applications.
 
Trapster is reported to have been pursued by four other suitors too, so presumably got a good price, although a spokesperson for Navteq told Reuters the deal was small even by the company's standards.
 
The service allows users to submit information about speed traps and road hazards when they drive past them, which then alerts other customers in the area.
 
It is currently available on iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Symbian and Palm devices, but can now be expected to be tied into Nokia Maps exclusively, harnessing the trend for user-generated data in web services.
 
Mapping/location is a rare market where Nokia has scarcely put a foot wrong, apart, perhaps, from paying such a huge sum ($8.1 billion) for Navteq in the first place.
 
The Finnish vendor outmaneuvered Google with an uncharacteristically bold web move, making Nokia Maps, which runs on Navteq's technology, free. And it has continued to enhance the application considerably since.
 
Last month, it bought 3D road mapping firm PixelActive, as it looks to keep a step ahead of rivals like Google Maps.
 
Earlier this year, Nokia EVP Tero Ojanpera said in an interview: “We want maps to be part of everyday life, and as a result, we are working on building a richer experience on top of the map…I think it is going to become obvious that companies with mapping assets are at an advantage”