The ink was barely dry on rumors published over the weekend, but Nokia
The move is the largest in a string of acquisitions Nokia has made recently, broadening the company beyond simply manufacturing wireless devices. The top handset manufacturer has also picked up mobile marketing firm Enpocket, digital music company Loudeye, and social-networking company Twango. Nokia's trying to stretch from hardware into services, as the recent launch of its own iTunes-esque music store demonstrates.
In addition to getting access to mapping data for the mobile services it plans to offer, Nokia has now become a supplier to online companies such as Yahoo!
Apparently, the market didn't feel that this statement of goodwill toward customers included Navteq client Garmin
And while Garmin and Nokia have few products that compete directly today, investors see a map-emboldened Nokia as bigger threat to Garmin. Certainly, Garmin's ambitions of supplying navigation applications loaded on cellular phones are right in Nokia's sights.
Many of Navteq's shareholders were less than thrilled about the purchase, though -- while the stock has doubled over the last four months, some investors believe there's much more long-term growth potential in an independent Navteq. With the deal already approved by both boards, however, Navteq will likely be gone from the map by next year. Investors interested in pure navigation plays will have to look in new directions.
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