Ovi-ous move
Nokia continued its drive to add software and services value to its handsets with the acquisition of privately-held US mobile browser and services platform company Novarra today.
Novarra has been in business for over ten year and has worked with the likes of Vodafone to develop mobile web platforms for its customers. It has been extensively involved in the business of adapting the full Internet for mobile devices.
The acquisition is being positioned by Nokia as contributing to the Internet experience on its handsets, especially the more mainstream ones - as opposed to smartphones. It will deliver a new platform incorporating Novarra technology later this year.
"Connecting the next billion consumers to the Internet will happen primarily on mobile devices," said Niklas Savander, EVP of services at Nokia, "and delivering an optimized internet experience on our devices is core to our mission.
"By driving innovation in all segments of our portfolio, we are building one of the largest consumer audiences for web services and content. Novarra's Internet services technology delivered on the world's most widely-used mobile platform, Nokia's Series 40, will help us achieve this."