Nokia has acquired MetaCarta Inc. and completed the purchase of Novarra Inc., initially announced on March 26, to improve its local search and mobile Internet offerings.

MetaCarta's expertise in geographic intelligence services and its technology will be used in the area of local search and other location-based services. Nokia will use Novarra's mobile browser and services platform to deliver enhanced Internet experiences on Nokia Series 40 mobile phones.

?Nokia's deal to acquire Novarra is another step toward mass mobile Internet adoption by driving innovation in all segments of our device portfolio,? said Kendra Petrone, White Plains, NY-based spokeswoman for Nokia. ?The acquisition of Novarra will enable Nokia to offer an improved mobile Web experience on Series 40 mobile devices.

?Nokia has acquired MetaCarta in order to accelerate its service development,? she said. ?As a leader in the field of geographic intelligence solutions, MetaCarta's technology will be used in the area of local search in location and other services.?

Every day, more than 1.2 billion people connect to one another with a Nokia device, from mobile phones to smartphones and mobile computers.

?Mobile phones are expected to be the highest volume device category worldwide for the next four years,? Ms. Petrone said.

Nokia is integrating its devices with services through Ovi, including music, maps, applications and email.

Nokia's Navteq specializes in digital mapping and navigation services, while Nokia Siemens Networks provides equipment and services for communications networks globally.

MetaCarta
MetaCarta is a privately owned company based in Cambridge, MA, that provides technology for finding anything written about any place.

MetaCarta?s technology combines geosearch and geotagging capabilities to let users find content about a location in internal and external data stores.

MetaCarta's products make data and unstructured content "location-aware" and geographically relevant for easier organization and quicker action.

?MetaCarta has a very talented team and they have the necessary technology to accelerate our service development and local search expertise,? Ms. Petrone said. ?This will supplement Nokia?s current local search solution, giving it the ability to handle more complex consumer queries.?

Novarra
Internet mobility company Novarra provides mobile Internet browsers and platforms for carriers, handset manufacturers and Internet brands to create new services and revenue streams for smartphones, features phones and mobile broadband devices.

The platforms deliver a mobile user experience for services including full Web browsing, search, widgets, applications, video and advertising.

Nokia typically does not disclose the cost of acquiring privately held companies.

While these acquisitions will undoubtedly further Nokia?s mobile advertising and marketing strategy, Nokia has nothing specific to share on that front at this time.

?Novarra has a sophisticated proxy browser that significantly improves the consumer Web experience on mainstream mobile phones,? Ms. Petrone said. ?We are always looking to continue to improve our Nokia Series 40 mobile phone experience and believe this technology will allow us to do this.?