Nokia buys mapping firm MetaCarta

The 30 employee company specialises in software tools for collecting location data and organizing information about specific location points, as well as correlating web data with location tags.

Nokia said that it would be using the acquisition to bolster its local search and location offerings. The company is declining to release the terms of the deal for the privately-held MetaCarta.

In adding MetaCarta, Nokia is continuing its efforts to bolster its mapping and navigation offerings. The company's biggest move in the area so far was the 2007 acquisition of mapmaker Navteq for $8.1bn.

The deal not only gave Nokia an in-house navigation service, but was also credited with putting increased pressure on rival navigation vendors such as TomTom.

The acquisition of MetaCarta comes as Nokia is putting the finishing touches on another of its acquisitions. The company said on Friday that it had finalised its purchase of Novarra, a software vendor specialising in mobile browsers and platforms.