Nokia has acquired an Oslo-based startup, Smarterphone, in its bid to compete with Google and Apple in a smart way.
There has been no official confirmation either from Nokia or Smarterphone about the deal, though venture capital backer Fred Capital announced about the deal on January 5, saying it was completed in November.
A total of €6.5m have been invested in Smarterphone by Ferd Capital since its inception in 2007.
Smarterphone claims that the software is optimised for devices costing $25 to $75, and the move by Nokia cashes in on Smarterphone’s distinct ability to provide smartphone like user experience on cheap hardware.
If the deal has effectrively been done, as per the reports, it adds to a long line of OS that Nokia claims to support, adding to its smartphone capabilities.
Apart from the Windows Phone OS from Microsoft, Nokia claims it also supports Symbian, S40 and MeeGo.
The acquisition is part of the Finnish firm’s efforts to broaden mobile Internet usage to a base of billion consumers, as the decade-old Series 40 software platform is too basic to compete against the likes of Android smartphones.
