Nokia Buys Motally To Boost Mobile Apps

Nokia said Friday it has purchased mobile analytics company Motally, a move aimed at bolstering its mobile application development services as it competes for mobile mindshare with Apple App Store.

San Francisco-based Motally offers mobile analytics that helps application developers understand of how users engage with their applications through tracking and reporting, according to Nokia. The service will be adapted for Symbian, Qt, Meego and Java developers.

Nokia is working hard to enhance its Ovi Internet services, which includes Ovi Store, where users can download mobile games, applications, videos, images, and ring tones to Nokia devices.

"The acquisition underpins Nokia's drive to deliver in-application and mobile web browsing analytics to Ovi's growing, global eco-system of developers and publishers, enabling partners to better connect with their customers and optimize and monetize their offering, said Marco Argenti, Nokia's vice president for media, in a statement.

Nokia has struggled recently to maintain its marketshare in the face of growing popularity of other mobile devices, including Apple iPhone and its Apple App Store.

In the second quarter of 2010, Nokia, the world’s largest mobile phone maker, saw its share of global handset sales to end-users fall to 34.2 percent from 36.8 percent in the year-earlier period, Gartner reported. The research firm said the top five smartphone device vendors globally were Nokia with a 37.4 percent market share, followed by RIM, Apple, HTC and Motorola.

Motally, founded in 2008, has eight employees, Nokia said. The deal is expected to close during the third quarter of 2010.