If you had any doubts whether Microsoft was serious about becoming a devices and services company, the announcement that Redmond has bought Nokia for a bargain basement price should be enough to lay them to rest.
The news may not be startling for all, but it is incredible nevertheless.
Obviously, the US technology titan has not bought the entire Finnish company — Microsoft snapped up Nokia’s devices and services business, but a number of units will still continue to operate under the illustrious Nokia brand.
But with their main phone business now gone, this will give the remaining part of Nokia an opportunity to focus on several things that have even bigger chances of success.
Nokia Here, for example, the company’s mapping service is now becoming a serious competitor for Google Maps, maybe the only real one in many ways. Already available for quite a few phones, Nokia plans to go beyond mobile devices and move into cars as well.
This is one field that, as Nokia recently announced, has immense scope and possibilities for growth.
Nokia has been busy building a viable competitor to Google Maps for a few years now, and it goes without saying that the technology world needs such a competitor. It can be argued that Maps is not exactly a huge money making product for Google, and that is, in many ways, true.
But for Nokia, this could prove to be a very lucrative market — provided it can maintain a powerful enough and distinctly unique product.
Along with Here, the company is also keeping its Advanced Technologies division. And this is rather interesting as this unit mainly focuses on research in various fields, from future web technologies to smart materials and sensors.
And considering that this is an area of research that is usually focused on long term results, instead of instant effects, it provides Nokia prospects to develop a myriad of interesting gadgets.
What would you say to a Google glass competitor in the not so distant future?
