TomTom partners with Mozilla on navigation on Firefox OS

TomTom is collaborating with Mozilla and telecom provider Telefónica. The company’s maps will therefore become available to users with a Firefox OS device, while some Telefonica customers with such a phone will also receive turn-by-turn navigation.

Firefox OS already had an included maps application, Here Maps from Nokia. As part of the partnership, TomTom’s Maps Online map app is now also available in the Firefox Marketplace. This can be downloaded from Thursday for all users of a Firefox OS device. Nav Online, a turn-by-turn navigation app with navigation voice, will initially only be available to Telefónica customers in certain markets.

In 2013, Telefónica was the first telephone company in the world to sell a Firefox OS device. The telephone company has now released devices with Firefox OS in fourteen countries. These are mainly located in Central America, an area where smartphone penetration is still relatively low.

TomTom did not provide any financial details about the partnership. The company is trying to make itself less dependent on PND sales. TomTom provides Apple with map information for Apple Maps. For Android, the company recently released a new app that allows users to navigate 75km for free.