Nokia boosts mobile analytics with Motally buy

Nokia has announced plans to acquire Motally, a small US-based mobile analytics software provider, in a bid to bolster its analytics capabilities.

Motally offers software that carries out in-application tracking and reporting. By collecting demographic and usage data, developers and publishers can optimise mobile app development by understanding how users engage with them, Nokia said.

The software is currently designed for the Android, BlackBerry, iPhone and iPad platforms, and Nokia will adapt the service for Qt, Symbian, Meego and Java developers, but will continue serving existing Motally customers.

The acquisition shows Nokia's commitment to delivering in-application and mobile web browsing analytics to the Ovi store's growing ecosystem of developers and publishers, according to Marco Argenti, vice president of media at Nokia.

Argenti added that the software will allow users to "better connect with their customers and optimise and monetise their offering".

Nick McQuire, EMEA research director for enterprise mobility at IDC, believes that the deal makes sense from a business standpoint.

"The acquisition highlights Nokia's need to strengthen its application capabilities," he told V3.co.uk.

"As native and web-based apps become mainstream on mobile devices, the requirement for developers and device manufacturers to have intelligence that enables them to better understand how their customers interact with these applications, content and the device itself will grow in importance."

Nokia is also expected to release new high-end handsets. A prototype of the Nokia N9 has emerged in China, and likely to be the first to ship with Nokia's MeeGo platform.

The N8, meanwhile, is expected to be launched at Nokia World in September and to appear on shelves in the UK in early October.

The purchase of Motally is expected to close during the third quarter of 2010. The exact terms of deal were not disclosed.