Google teams with TomTom for navigation data sharing

Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) continues its cruise into providing GPS-based location information to anyone with any device by partnering with GPS device maker TomTom. Google will make it easier to search for and then send business addresses from Google Maps to TomTom portable navigation devices.

Although services that send web-based driving directions to portable GPS devices already exist, this is the first time a Google Maps search can be sent directly to a TomTom navigation device with a click. Although anyone can enter an address into a GPS device and receive driving directions, it's much easier and faster to use a web service like Google Maps to locate the most updated information and then send that to a GPS in seconds.

As such, Google has added a "Send to GPS" link to the existing "Send" feature available when any customer uses Google Maps. For salespeople and other traveling professionals, being able to locate a business address within a few seconds and sending that information to your GPS device with a single click will be immensely valuable.

This new partnership will also make Google Maps more customer sticky than it already is. Google Maps competes with Yahoo! Maps, MSN Live Maps and AOL's MapQuest.