AFI BLOG: Media and Technology

Red Herring

Nokia added yet another company to its growing roster of mobile services firms with an announcement Monday that it will acquire Plazes, a location-based services provider for an undisclosed sum.

The Plazes acquisition will be Nokia’s ninth purchase of a mobile services or content firm in the last two and a half years and continues the cell phone maker’s transformation into a full-service mobile player.

Faced with major mobile phone pricing pressures and increasing market saturation, Nokia is leading the charge among handset makers looking to expand into ancillary businesses, particularly mobile applications.

In the last two-and-a-half years Nokia acquired mobile services, content, and application firms Intellisync, Loudeye, Gate5, Twango, Navteq, Enpocket, Avennu, and Trolltech.

“Nokia is at the forefront of a major shift in the mobile market, bypassing the carriers and offering users a set of applications that do not require the carriers’ blessing,” said Shahid Khan, a partner with IBB Consulting Group.

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