Credit: TechNadu
Huawei won’t be deterred by the loss of Google’s support.
After Huawei lost access to a good portion of Google’s apps and framework, they were left with phones missing some crucial features. Maps, email, and more were all provided through Google-owned services, but after the messy tangle with the U.S. government last year, Google was forced to end business with them. It’s rough-going at Huawei at the moment as they try to find replacements for all of the Google apps and services, but thanks to a timely partnership with a Dutch company, they may be able to scratch at least one off the list.
Huawei recently announced that they had finalized a deal with Dutch navigation company TomTom. TomTom has their own digital mapping services and sells dedicated GPS devices of their own branding and design. In lieu of Google Maps and its associated traffic data, Huawei-branded smartphones will be able to utilize the dedicated TomTom navigation app, as well as use the company’s mapping data for any other apps that would make use of it. Apparently, this deal had actually been closed quite a while ago, according to TomTom spokesman Remco Meerstra, but was only made public about a week ago.
As difficult as it is to be blacklisted in the tech industry, Huawei seems to be doing a decent job staying afloat. They recently made several deals for new, non-American parts for their phones, and with this TomTom deal, they’ve got a vital linchpin in providing services on par with any Google-compliant phone.
