It's (half) official. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Federal Trade Commission has just approved Nokia's
The subject of the recent brouhaha over whether Garmin
Make that "sets half the stage." In light of last month's news that the European Commission is scrutinizing the TomTom-Tele Atlas tie-up, it seems Nokia has one more big regulatory hoop to jump through before it will be able to seal the deal with Navteq.
Foolish takeaway
Last month's good news that Garmin had finalized a long-term data supply agreement with Navteq should go a ways toward allaying European regulatory concerns that Nokia's purchase will lock out (for lack of mapping data) those who want to compete in this market. My guess, therefore, is that we'll see this deal receive EC approval and proceed to completion. That will mean watching competition heat up among the new Big Three in GPS devices -- Garmin, Nokia, and TomTom.
Other cell phone makers -- Sony
Map the progress of this GPS saga with: