Nokia is buying Navteq. Navteq is one of the big two digital mapmakers out there (the other is TeleNav, who was rumored to be in talks with TomTom). The moves actually does make a bit of sense for Nokia, who offers some GPS software of their own called smart2go that works on Windows Mobile.

Navteq powers the maps on Live Search, currently the best free GPS software available for Windows Mobile.

The purchase price is hefty, $8.1 billion, so it's pretty clear that Nokia is serious about using this stuff. That, plus the fact that Nokia already makes WM-compatible GPS software makes me a little nervous that Microsoft may have to start taking a closer look at Telenav. Long ago, Nokia bought my favorite instant messenger client for PalmOS and Windows Mobile, VeriChat, then killed it dead. Please don't repeat the past, Nokia. Please.

Nokia, the world’s largest cellphone maker, said it will acquire Navteq for $78 a share, which is only 3 cents above Navteq’s closing share price on Friday. But Navteq’s stock has risen sharply in recent weeks amid rumors that it was a takeover target.

Once rumor became reality, investors seemed a bit disappointed. Navteq’s shares fell about 1.7 percent in early trading Monday

Read: Nokia to Buy Navteq for 8.1 Billion

Let me start by saying that I love TomTom on Windows Mobile - it seems to be the least-resource-intensive among the full featured GPS apps and that matters to me. So I'm inclined to be happy that they're planning on buying up the company that makes the maps they use - Tele Atlas. Supposedly TomTom will be able to gather data from its users to improve the maps. Sure, that's cool.

What's more interesting is that, really, there are two big players in the electronic mapping business these days - Tele Atlas and NavTeq. NavTeq makes the maps for Windows Live Search (swoon) and Notable Calls suspects they'll be snapped up soon as well. That would please me a bit, as it would mean that another mapping client like Google's or WLS's would get more full-featured, but it would also cause me some fear.

Why fear? Well TomTom's purchase is a good case study. They say that TeleAtlas will still be providing maps to other companies, but that decision is pretty much up to the whim of the TomTom management now. Given that TomTom still has the single most annoying GPS software activation process known to mankind, I don't have faith in their commitment to openness. Seems to me what we need is a full-featured, open source, wiki-style map. Hm. Maybe it's time to go contribute to OpenStreetMap, just in case.

Dutch navigation systems company TomTom plans to buy its main map supplier, Tele Atlas, for 1.8 billion euros ($2.5 billion), hoping tight integration of maps and products will give it an edge over competitors.

Read: NavTeq Should Move On Tele Atlas Buyout By TomTom - Seeking Alpha. Thanks to Mike for the tip.