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Nokia internet services gets another rocket strapped to its back

By Mike on 28 January 2009

ESPOO, Finland – It’s no secret that Nokia is swiftly evolving its internet and location based services, built on the original vision set out by CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo back in May of last year. So today sees Nokia stoke that engine for an extra performance boost with news that it’s acquiring Bit-side GmbH, a cutting-edge mobile software and services outfit that promises to help propel Nokia’s context-aware services, including Nokia Maps, to the next level. And fast.

A compact and extremely focussed company of 39 employees, the Bit-side team will be integrated into Nokia’s Services division, an area of Nokia that over the past year has become a hotbed of exciting new talent with acquisitions of other leading mobile services teams, including Plazes, Navteq and Trolltech.

Michael Halbherr is vice president and head of social location at Nokia, and today briefly highlighted why this move to bring Bit-side onboard is significant for Nokia’s social location plans:

“Acquiring Bit-side enables Nokia to offer consumers the world-leading mobile location applications, such as Maps, along with routing and navigation at an accelerated speed… Nokia believes that context plays a pivotal role in the evolution of the Internet. To make the Internet truly personal, Nokia is building the ability for people to always know where they are and what is around them. Moreover, to know where their friends are and what they are doing and how they are feeling.”

Ultimately, what it means for the rest of us is that we’ll get to benefit from more advanced location based mobile services sooner. Can’t be bad.

What do you think? Are location based services being developed too quickly, or not fast enough? Or is Nokia on track and moving at a speed that excites you into wanting to bring more context aware services into your everyday mobile existence? Let us know your opinions in the comments section below.

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Brendan Says:
January 28th, 2009 at 8:46 pm

In response to your question, I think LBS are not being developed quickly enough.

For me I use Maps quite a lot and I think people in the US are quite comfortable using GPS to direct them. However, people here seem to be extremely paranoid about revealing their location to anyone through services like Contacts on Ovi.

However I think this will change as people are more exposed to it and see practical applications to using the services. Convenience and practicality will trump the paranoia of allowing people to know where you are. Having good PR and marketing LBS to a wide audience will be key.

First, people need to know these applications exist. And then the media coverage needs to be reinforced by real people using them. So when LBS are developed faster, it will excellerate public awareness and acceptance.