RIM has announced today a partnership with the well known mapping and navigation company, TomTom. TomTom offers real-time mapping, navigation and traffic data and will now power the popular BlackBerry Traffic application. This is a sure sign of good things to come on the navigation front for BlackBerry 10, and I for one can't wait to see what's in store.

Press Release

NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TomTom today announced that Research In Motion (RIM) is using TomTom's award winning real-time traffic services for BlackBerry® applications. BlackBerry® Traffic is now powered by TomTom HD Traffic, giving customers access to the most accurate, comprehensive and up-to-date traffic information on the market. Additionally, TomTom maps and location content is used in BlackBerry® Maps, and for BlackBerry® Locate Services, which gives 3rd party software developers access to the mapping and traffic information for their own apps.

"Through our strategic relationship with RIM, we are enabling the future of mobile travel with powerful location content and real-time information, including HD Traffic," said Nuno Campos, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for TomTom Licensing. "TomTom's market-leading real-time traffic information will provide BlackBerry customers with the best mobile travel experience."

"We're thrilled to work with TomTom to leverage their industry-leading traffic and travel content for BlackBerry Traffic and BlackBerry Maps, and to enable access to those capabilities for BlackBerry developers as well," said Martyn Mallick, Vice President, Global Alliances and Business Development at Research In Motion.

According to a recent study, TomTom's traffic information saves commuters 50 minutes of travel time per week or approximately 40 hours per year. With HD Traffic, BlackBerry customers will be able to select the best route to their destinations in an effort to not only save time but also fuel.

Source: Business Wire Via: TNW

Between now and November 10th, we're partnering with Waze to give away an iPad or an Android Galaxy Tab (obviously if this was happening later, we'd go BlackBerry PlayBook here, but it can't hurt to win a tablet of any kind, right?). Here's how it works:

1. Download and install Waze from your mobile browser.
2. Drive around with Waze and collect "Road Goodies" - which basically just means drive over the CrackBerry logos as you move about your city. As you can see above, they are *everywhere*.
3. It's a competition between iPhone users, Android users, and BlackBerry users - which is to say you're up against the kids from TiPb and Android Central. Whichever site whose users collect the most Road Goodies will win and be able to give a tablet away to one of their users - selected randomly from amongst the top 25 collectors. Remember - you only get credit for driving over the CrackBerry icons.
4. That's it! Use Waze, collect Road Goodies, and stick it to those iPhone and Android users while automatically getting a chance to win an iPad or Tab

What's Waze, then? It's a free social mapping tool: you can get directions, find out where the traffic is, ping other users, and generally find your way around while helping other Waze users get better location and traffic information. Check out the full details on the Waze Blog.

Waze, the well-known social GPS app currently available for the iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile and Symbian platforms, has announced they are coming to the BlackBerry beginning today. I have had the opportunity to test drive the beta for the last week, and as of this morning, the app is now available for download.

Waze is a free mobile navigation app that allows drivers to build and use live maps, real-time traffic updates and turn-by-turn navigation to improve their daily commute. Waze also incorporates social elements that give drivers the ability to actively update one other on traffic, police traps, construction, speed cams and more. Since waze is 100% user-generated and routes may not be optimal in all areas from day one, waze learns quickly, so the more people who use waze, the better, it gets. They are even running a contest for those participating in the beta, offering up an iPad for the person who munches the most "road goodies" - small icons worth bonus points - from May 4th thru 14th.

I have to tell you, even though this app is in an early beta phase, the attention to detail and work that has gone into it shine through already. It does have it's bugs, and is somewhat shaky on some functions, but the dev team at Waze has been fantastic with responding to feedback, and are looking for even more from the CrackBerry.com community. Give it a go, and very soon you'll find yourself taking a drive just for the opportunity to play with this little app, and taking detours from your normal route because you see a "cupcake" just one street over.

• Download Waze free OTA from your mobile browser (m.waze.com) >>

Here is a great new app arrving just in time for holiday travel. FlightView was released today in BlackBerry App World it lets users track flights, manage their travel plans, and stay on top of national delays at major airports. Some great implmentation of information is present here considering you canuse the "in air" mapping to even see where, exactly your flight is and plan around any possible delays. Other key features include:

• Weather the storm: An attractive map shows the plane en route and a radar weather overlay so users can anticipate any weather-related delays.
• Effortlessly manage travel: FlightView integrates scheduled flights with BlackBerry's calendar, updating gate, arrival, and departure information in real-time-while preventing double booking.
• Capture all the details: The easy-to-read notes feature lets travelers record important details of their trip, like reservation numbers, phone numbers and points of interest.
• See the big picture: Frequent fliers can keep their eyes on trouble spots with an airport delay map with current radar weather overlay, showing delay statuses for the most trafficked airports across North America. A color coded system shows which airports' flights are on target and which are experiencing major or minor delays. 

FlightView makes great use of push services to ensure you always have the latest information in your hands when you need it most. At this time, only 8100 and 8300 series devices are supported but more are in the works and the application currently costs $4.99.

• Read More Information About FlightView Via Their Website>>
• Download FlightView For Your BlackBerry Today From BlackBerry App World>>