Many investors are still wondering why Nokia coughed up over $8 billion for NAVTEQ over 3 years ago, was it really just to save on map licensing costs? So it’s interesting to see that NAVTEQ is not only working as a separate entity, but they also have their own mergers and acquisitions department. According to Retuers, NAVTEQ picked up a company called Trapster for an undisclosed sum of money. “It’s a small deal, even by Navteq standards,” said a NAVTEQ spokeswoman. Trapster has 9.4 million users that use either an Android or iPhone application to share with other drivers where sneaky police officers setup speed traps. The law, oink oink, has nothing better to do with their time, like solving cases and helping old people cross the street, so they just sit in their police cars on the side of the highway, behind a bush, and point their dinky little radar detector at unsuspecting traffic. They pull people over and fine them the maximum punishment as dictated by the law, all because city revenues are in decline and raising taxes looks bad on the people in charge.
It’s a sad state of affairs, but nothing is going to change. Combine Trapster’s assets with NAVTEQ’s already rich database of speed cameras, and those of you using a Symbian powered Nokia device should have no problem avoiding the cops. And remember, if you are caught by the 9-1-1 then be as civil as possible, don’t panic, and if you happen to be driving with a female in the passenger seat, make her cry her brains out. The sympathy card works on most men. During my short 3 years in Texas I averaged a speeding ticket a month, as did my mother, so a lead foot runs in the family. Fortunately for her, she’s a nurse and always told officers that she was “needed for an emergency situation”. Yea right, Mom.