Tom Tom, the fastest growing GPS device choice in the U.S. uses TELEATLAS, but Magellan and Garmin, Google Maps, Yahoo! Maps, MSN Maps, and MapQuest all prefer NAVTEQ.

What's the difference?

TELEATLAS, based in Europe, is considered the leader for European maps, but they rely almost solely on satellite imagery.

NAVTEQ, a U.S. based company, is also powered by satellites. Users who log onto their site can correct small, but annoying idiosyncrasies in real time. Like Dan said in his blog, it's this constant reality checking that guarantees accuracy.

Yesterday, GPS magazine pointed out the glaring differences between the two.

Here's a Gmap of New Jersey powered by TeleAtlas data: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?centerX=-74.03115749359131&c...

Here's the same map from Google powered by NAVTEQ: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=hoboken,+nj&spn=0.015104,0.027479&hl=en

So, if you feel like a meathead because your expensive GPS device gets you lost, maybe it's the mapping technology you should be blaming. While both companies are constantly changing how they map data, my priority is accuracy. And I'm willing to pay a little extra for that kind of piece of mind.

Julia Rosien,
Nomadik Editor