Nokia buys Motally in app experience play

Nokia on Friday said it had bought out Motally in a bid to improve the experience of its mobile apps. The eight-person company's technology can show usage patterns in both native apps and on websites to identify where they can be optimized. It plans to keep supporting existing uses with Android, BlackBerry, iPad and iPhone apps but will focus on supplying info for all of Nokia's platforms, including Java, Meego, Symbian and the underlying Qt framework.

The two companies plan to close the deal during the summer.

Motally's work may be critical to keeping and expanding development for the Ovi Store. Nokia's portal has faced mounting complaints from developers as they either haven't made enough money compared to other platforms or have faced confusing app submission processes and long delays. The acquisition would help Nokia and developers place ads in ways more likely to generate revenue and streamline the interface to improve reviews and downloads.

Despite Nokia having a much larger market share than any other smartphone manufacturer, it has a far smaller footprint in apps than Apple's iOS or Google's Android. The lack of incentives to use the platform has led to declines in market share as the iPhone and multiple Android devices have increasingly taken over.

By Electronista Staff