Nokia gets Novarra and expects results

Nokia today said it had bought Chicago-based Novarra through acquiring all its shares. The younger company has been known for developing high speed mobile web browsers as well as platforms for services. Unlike most such deals, Nokia explicitly noted that its goal was to improve Internet access on its phones and expects a new Nokia-branded service at the end of the year.

The most likely early candidate for improvement is Symbian S40, a feature phone OS that runs on most of Nokia's low-end cellphones. It may, however, also represent an attempt by Nokia to address criticisms of its web browsing experience. Despite its sharing WebKit with Apple's iPhone as the foundation of its mobile browser, Nokia's Symbian-based browser has often been criticized for its slower performance and reduced accuracy compared to its newer competitor.

By Electronista Staff