May 20 - 10:55am EDT   Digital map and dynamic content creator Tele Atlas on Wednesday announced it will soon offer 3D, photorealistic images of major European city centers called Advanced City Models. Meant for in-car and portable navigation systems, the highly detailed images match the actual surroundings and help users find locations and services. The images were developed in conjunction with Norway-based BLOM, which provided Tele Atlas with aerial imagery of the city centers. [full story]

July 2 - 12:45pm EDT   The European Commission has approved an acquisition of map maker NAVTEQ, Nokia has announced. With this validation in hand, the company says it has met all regulatory concerns, and plans to complete the buyout within a matter of five days. "NAVTEQ will play a key role in our Internet services strategy," reads a statement from Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo. The acquisition will also likely save the company money on licensing, as it has previously had to pay companies like NAVTEQ for each use of a map on a phone. [full story]

May 14 - 4:30pm EDT   European Commission officials today cleared GPS maker TomTom's plans to buy Tele Atlas. The government body says the buyout "would not significantly impede" competition in GPS navigators and attached no restrictions to the deal, which lets TomTom use an in-house source for its own maps. Although the possiblity exists for TomTom to artificially limit competition by blocking sales of Tele Atlas maps to outside companies, the existence of its rival Navteq makes that "unlikely," the Commission says. [full story]