The competition for the world’s best 3D interactive mapping is officially kicking off thanks to the recent acquisition of PixelActive by NAVTEQ, owned by Nokia. The 3D technology company is the latest in a long line of acquisitions which NAVTEQ hopes will lead to a legitimate Google Earth competitor.
When you look at Google Earth, beyond its incredible speed and accuracy of the mapping, no viable competition comes to mind. Nokia’s NAVTEQ on the other hand is a leading global provider of maps and traffic and location-based services, but lacks the 3D technology to compete. Fast forward to the PixelActive acquisition and Nokia is poised to leverage 3D technologies for all of NAVTEQ’s products.
Before getting into bed with Nokia’s NAVTEQ, PixelActive remained a small California-based company with 16 employees focusing on tools and technologies for detailed 3D modeling of road networks, buildings and terrain. Through the acquisition, NAVTEQ’s ability to build products in a 3D environment is now ten fold and the possibility to compete with Google Earth is within reach.
According to Larry Kaplan, president and CEO of NAVTEQ, “the acquisition of PixelActive underscores NAVTEQ’s continued to commitment to provide the most advanced digital maps”. He went on to say that they are quickly moving to a world of 3D maps and the acquisition was one of the necessary steps to achieve that goal.
If there’s one thing to be certain about when it comes to NAVTEQ’s acquisition of PixelActive it’s that the new-found competition will only improve both Google Maps and the products NAVTEQ plans to leverage. We’ve witnessed the power of competition most recent in the smart phones space when Google entered in 2008 and their quick success triggered rapidly innovation just as the iPhone did a year prior.
Anyone else excited for an alternative to Google Earth, I mean we love the product, but a little competition never hurt, right? Let us know what you think and sound off in the comments.
via MobileSider
