When it comes to mapping technology, it seems Apple Inc. and Research In Motion Ltd. are on the same page.

Dutch in-car navigation firm TomTom’s announcement this week that it has licensed its map and real time traffic data to Apple follows an unveiling of a similar partnership with RIM a few weeks earlier.

TomTom and the Waterloo-based device maker in May said BlackBerrys will use the services in applications including BlackBerry Maps, Traffic and BlackBerry Locate, which lets third-party software developers access the information for their own app development.

It’s also expected that the mapping service will be offered on RIM’s BB10 software platform and smartphones slated for release in the latter part of 2012.

Apple at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference this week showcased an updated mobile device operating system that includes a customized mapping program to replace Google Maps. The next day, TomTom said it signed a global agreement with Apple for maps and related information.

Apple also said it is working to build Siri voice activation technology into control systems in automobiles.

“Through the voice command button on your steering wheel, you’ll be able to ask Siri questions without taking your eyes off the road,” Apple said on a website describing the new iOS 6 platform.

Observers say the rise of TomTom is a blow to Google, which has enjoyed a dominant position in the mobile mapping environment, arguing as well that use of the technology by RIM and Apple should drive improvements in its performance.

TomTom on BlackBerry and the iOS 6 also demonstrates the growing value of navigation services for mobile devices, with a recent study concluding that TomTom’s traffic information allows drivers to select the best route to their destinations and saves commuters roughly 50 minutes of travel time per week.

And the growing importance of in-car navigation software offers an opportunity for RIM, which was early to the game when it acquired Ottawa-based QNX Software Systems in 2010 in part to boost its performance in the automotive sector.

QNX technology supports wireless digital services including video-on-demand and GPS navigation, and has been licensed for more than 17 million in-vehicle systems.

The company unveiled a “cloud-connected” concept car early this year in Las Vegas that includes smartphone integration with Bluetooth, a reconfigurable digital instrument cluster and high-definition hands-free communications.

A concept Porsche Carrera was used to demonstrate applications, including Vlingo voice-to-text and voice recognition, a multilingual speech engine, the Poynt virtual personal assistant, a Weather Network app, and streaming Internet radio from Pandora, NoBex, Slacker, and TuneIn.

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