Nokia explores sale of its Here map business: Report

                             
                                                    Nokia logo is seen in this file photo. Reuters

Nokia is considering selling its maps business known as HERE, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday, pushing up shares in the Finnish company as well as its network gear rival Alcatel-Lucent.

After the exit from handsets, analysts have seen little synergies between the map unit and Nokia’s mainstay network gear business. Nokia has hired a financial adviser to explore a sale of the unit, the source added.

Bloomberg first reported news of the sale on Friday. A Nokia spokeswoman declined to comment.

Shares in Nokia closed 5.57 percent higher while those in France’s Alcatel-Lucent closed 4.82 percent higher. The two companies have reportedly held on and off merger talks in recent years.

Shares in Dutch navigation company TomTom surged more than 11 percent after the news broke.

“We have estimated that HERE’s value is around 3.3-4.8 billion euros, and in a possible deal the price should be more than that,” Inderes Equity Research said on its Twitter account.

Nokia sold its once-dominant phone handset business to Microsoft last year, leaving it with its core network equipment business, HERE as well as its patent division.

HERE last year had net sales of around 969 million euros with an operating profit of 31 million euros. The unit has signed several orders from the car industry recently.

Nokia bought HERE’s predecessor Navteq for 5.7 billion euros in 2007. The Nokia website says HERE’s maps were included in 10 million new cars sold in 2013, and that the unit’s maps also power “mobile devices, connected devices and enterprise solutions.”

Reuters

Tags: Microsoft, Nokia, Nokia HERE, Nokia HERE maps, Nokia shares, TomTom, Twitter

                                                      Nokia provides free mapping services app for Apple users

Nokia says it has started providing mapping services for free download in Apple’s App Store, after a successful launch of the service on Android devices.

The HERE offline maps, with navigation and search features covering more than 150 countries, is immediately available for devices using the iOS operating system, such as iPhones and iPads.

Nokia said Thursday that more than 4 million users have downloaded HERE apps since its Android launch last year. The maps, a fixed feature on Windows phones, contain real-time traffic information for more than 40 countries.

Nokia’s HERE is one of the few global computerized road-map providers, with a long history of working with automotive companies and an 80 percent market share for embedded automotive maps.

Earlier, Nokia Here Maps was made available for Android users across 118 countries. Here maps was previously available only on Windows Phone 8 devices and to Android devices in some countries, but after the handset business coming under Microsoft’s control, Nokia is concentrating on expanding the reach of its Here maps.

With the launch of Here maps on Android and iOS,  Nokia will be competing directly against Google Maps.

Associated Press

Microsoft plans to bring more 4G phones to India

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Technology giant Microsoft has said it will line up more 4G-compatible devices in India once the infrastructure for the high speed Internet service is ready in the country.

The company, which acquired Nokia’s handset division last year for USD 7.2 billion, has only one 4G-compatible device, Lumia 638 (priced at about Rs. 6,800), in the Indian market.

“There are a number of 4G-compatible devices in our portfolio, we are ready with the handsets. Once infrastructure is ready (in India), we will bring more 4G devices in,” Microsoft Mobile Devices Director Marketing Raghuvesh Sarup told PTI.

Many devices makers are now lining up 4G-compatible phones (especially in the sub- Rs. 10,000 category) as operators like Reliance Jio gear up to launch the high-speed Internet service in the country.

Currently, Airtel and Aircel are the only two operators offering 4G services in certain parts of the country. Lenovo’s A6000 and A7000, Yu’s Yureka and Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G are some of the devices that hit the Indian market in the sub Rs. 10,000 segment recently. Meanwhile, Microsoft has launched two new handsets — Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL — in India, priced at Rs. 11,999 and Rs. 15,799, respectively.

While both the devices are available in LTE versions, these will not be available in India currently.

“Consumers today are constantly looking for a device to bring them more flexibility to switch easily between work and play. The Lumia 640 XL and Lumia 640 are the perfect devices that are enablers of productivity, busting the 9 to 5 myth by letting you achieve more on your own terms,” Microsoft Mobile Devices Director (South) T S Sridhar said.

The Lumia 640 will be available on eCommerce portal, Flipkart, while the Lumia 640 XL will be available in physical retail stores.

The dual SIM-Lumia 640 comes with 5-inch HD display, 1.2GHz quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, Windows Phone 8.1 with Lumia Denim operating system, 8 MP rear and 1 MP front facing cameras, 8GB internal memory (30 GB free OneDrive and micro SD support up to 128 GB) and 2,500 mAh battery.

The Lumia 640 XL has a 5.7-inch display, 13 MP rear and 5 MP front cameras and 3,000 mAh battery.

PTI

Tags: 4G Services, 4G Services In India, Aircel, Airtel, Flipkart, Lumia 640, Lumia 640 XL, Microsoft, Microsoft Lumia devices, Microsoft Mobile Devices, Nokia