Nokia and Yahoo! unite to integrate mobile and web services

Already perceived by many US commentators as a coalition of the losers, Nokia and Yahoo! have signed a deal that will see the two parties combining their presences on mobile and online.

The deal goes beyond mere pleasantries to fundamentally tie services from the two companies together.

As such, Nokia's Ovi Maps will be used for all of Yahoo!'s

maps and navigation services, while Yahoo! becomes the exclusive provider of Nokia's mail and chat services globally.

Some co-branded services are expected to become available from the second half of 2010, with the deal going global in 2011.

Strategic alliance

To cement the partnership, the firms have also revealed that they are looking to 'work on ID federation between their services' so users can use their Ovi accounts across Yahoo! websites in the future.

"Delivering great user experiences both online and on your mobile is what this alliance is all about," says Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo.

"We're enabling millions of Yahoo! customers in key markets including North America to discover the unique capabilities that Ovi Maps brings.

"Similarly, Yahoo!'s online expertise will bring exciting mail and messaging enhancements to millions of Ovi Mail customers across almost every country around the world, many of whom will have their first Internet experience on their mobile."

Small fish in a big pond

The news has met with somewhat muted applause in the US, where both companies are seen to be past their best.

Unlike Europe and many developing markets - where Nokia is the market leader in terms of device numbers, the Finnish OEM is something of an also-ran in the States with only around 9 percent of the market, while Yahoo! has been unseated at the top of the search engine tree by rival Google.

No money is believed to have changed hands as part of the deal, with some pointing towards a quid pro quo set-up.

[source: Nokia & Yahoo]