One of the side-effects of the range of apps on smartphones is the new markets players within the mobile industry are venturing into.

With both Google and Nokia making fairly major advances into the sat-nav business - each one set to offer free turn-by-turn navigational software for mobiles - Dutch giant TomTom has suddenly found itself with a collection of new competitors.

But, according to chief executive Harold Goddijn, the challenge they represent is being overstated.

"We need to get away from the impression that the various navigation platforms are competing with each other," Goddijn told the Wall Street Journal, going on to describe the free alternatives on mobiles as "as old as the road to Rome".

It's Goddijn's opinion that the moves by Google and Nokia put the business model practised by TomTom and its rivals needlessly under threat, although he did admit that Google's ability to drive investment into its own maps system gives it "an advantage".

Indeed, this is a two way battle, TomTom having made its debut on the App Store last August with much fanfare. But Goddijn believes that the innovation TomTom offers - its maps now coming with the degree of slope marked on roads - and its brand power should see it through.

"There are possibilities in 2010, which can be very important as we try to strategically position ourselves on the mobile market," he concluded.

The Wall Street Journal