Nokia's got a map.

Nokia, the original mobile phone mobile terminal, has now been looked down. Now the has long been replaced by smart terminals such as Samsung and Apple. recently, Nokia seems to have a tendency to revive itself. November 14, 2012, Nokia in the United States released its latest map platform--here map (here.com), the platform based on HTML5 technology to support the platform browser, the map platform in addition to new features and improve a number of geographical services, The version of Apple iOS and Android will also be released, and the SDK for the here map is released in the 2013 quarter.

As we can see from the 2012-q3 report of the root Gartner, the global smartphone share has risen to 39.6%, while Nokia's global smartphone share in the quarter continued to fall by only 4.3%, falling to seventh place, with Symbian and windows on their handsets The phone operating system was the lowest of 2.6% and 2.4%, respectively. Doubts about its CEO Elop are escalating, and even Nokia's former management, the leading mobile industry analyst Tomič T Ahonen, has failed in his strategy and called for his resignation.

Since the alliance with Microsoft, Nokia for the first time with a slightly open stance to enter the other mobile platforms. But can the map business help Nokia play a turnaround in the Red Sea of mobile Internet, on this huge and burning offshore platform? Or, through the opening of the map platform, where can we take Nokia?

As early as 2006, Nokia CEO Kallasvuo the beginning of his inauguration, "to the mobile Internet transition Strategic layout" and "mobile phone as a mobile PC product concept." And in August 2007 released the "Nokia Ovi" concept, including music, maps, mail, games, nets, calendars and other application clusters. At this point Apple has just released its iphone, no physical keyboard, can not replace the battery, can not send MMS, by the industry to predict the lack of competitive value. At the time, Nokia Symbian smartphone accounted for 60% of the world's smartphone share, no one can be the enemy. Google's Android didn't release its first version until September 2008.

Nokia's deep pockets, on the basis of the OVI concept, launched a series of major acquisitions for its business layout, especially for the map business, which has not stopped.

As early as 2006, the acquisition of the German GPS Navigation Company Gate5, began to integrate GPS modules and mobile phones. In October 2007, Navteq, the world's largest map maker, was bought with 8.1 billion dollars in cash, which has a map of 69 countries, including Nokia, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and other global IT giants and other auto manufacturers, logistics companies are their customers. By the end of 2010, Nokia had also acquired a mobile map company, Reach Unlimited, which could quickly share information such as speed cameras, checkpoints and road hazards through mobile-phone map software. Now, with the launch of the "Here" map platform, Nokia has also completed its acquisition of the 3D map technology company Earthmine, which it plans to improve its own technology in the area of 3D maps and city positioning. The map business, which provides route planning navigation services in 110 countries around the world, is undoubtedly Nokia's best quality software asset.

Nokia Maps also have good partner resources. The Ovi brand has reached a global strategic alliance with Yahoo, and has cooperated deeply in maps, emails, chats and other business. The two companies will abandon the Google Maps they are using, in collaboration with Groupon, the world's largest Groupon, and Amazon, an E-commerce website. Provide stable map data to clients of Oracle, the world's largest database software manufacturer. At the same time, Nokia also with FedEx, UPS and other world-renowned logistics express enterprises to facilitate the collection and updating of map data.

In other areas, Nokia acquired Loudeye, a world-renowned company in the field of digital music and media distribution (August 2006), and plans to emulate Ipod+itunes's model of combining digital music with mobile phones. Enpocket, a global mobile advertising leader (September 2007), has also acquired a mobile advertising business.

Backed by ample capital and a huge market share, Nokia built its own luxury portfolio in the early days of mobile internet, no less than any competitor.

Multimedia touch, unexpected rout

2007 was seen as the "Year of the Year" for smartphones, and when Apple's iphone was released, Jobs announced to the world, "we'll reinvent the phone today." Even then, there was still plenty of time left for Nokia, but the Giants eventually missed out on the opportunity to turn the lead into a declining industrial aristocracy.

As the iphone and Android systems continue to escalate, the mobile internet industry chain is becoming more sophisticated. Nokia's ideas still revolve around its once-proud Symbian system, which has released a number of keyboard-style high-end handsets, incorporating the concepts of "navigation, music, video, social". But as more and more people begin to experience the use of multimedia touch Entertainment from iphones and Android phones, those clear images, the natural manipulation of their hands, the fluency of reading, and the true perception of the game completely conquer them.

Although Nokia has many high-end flagship handsets, but also are new bottles of old wine, Symbian platform defects began to be infinitely magnified. Users can not stand staring at the small screen of the mobile phone to use navigation, it is difficult to get comfortable feeling in reading, but also can not experience cool mobile games. As a result, Nokia has been abandoned, industrial design Nokia can quickly catch up with touch phone, but he lacks a can be equipped with this operating system, but also gave up with Google on Android cooperation. Prior to partnering with Microsoft, Nokia had been through many so-called innovations, such as Symbian S60 V5, Maemo, Symbian3, MeeGo, and released a variety of expensive high-end models, but Nokia did not seem to think clearly that what he lacked was the ability to build an eco-chain.

Nokia's current CEO, Elop, urged deep cooperation with Microsoft in Windows Phone, and they are confident that the alliance will win back the world. But reality tells them "there is no permanent business alliance, only temporary common interests." First, Microsoft's slow process on Windows Phone dragged Nokia's new mobile phone out of its reach and ended up with an intolerable 7.5 version, and Nokia lost control of its products and was abandoned by many loyal users.

Previously, Apple has released its own mobile map to replace Google Maps, which have long collaborated, but has caused a bad user experience because of its product flaws. At this point, in the aquatic hot Nokia seems to think of their own this piece of the best quality assets-map. The use of maps to save the lost looks like a myth, but just as the Motorola move was acquired with only "proprietary assets", Nokia's opening out of the map platform was the only viable option for him.

In recent years, Nokia from its own strategic release, corporate mergers and acquisitions to strategic cooperation, is a high-profile opening and the end of insipid, map business as a chess piece, to guide Nokia in the mobile Internet basic business in the field of a path? We do not know for the time being, the author predicts a few feasible ways, a little something.

1, independent operation to ensure a keen sense of the market sense of smell

Previously, Nokia set up the "positioning and business sector", the independent map department Navteq and service business to merge. But the author is concerned about the development of the map by the way of business department, in such a large multinational enterprise, different interest groups are filled with their own bureaucratic struggles. 2002, the Symbian 3D interface design proposal was not; In 2004, the prototype of the big touch-screen handset was considered to have no potential; In 2004, the early proposal of the Web App store was not; 2001-2009, Symbian system Total 500 in the user interface improvement recommendations are not. It is precisely because the interests of different departments of the contribution of the inconsistent, resulting in the company's decision-making power and the ability to allocate resources are different. Therefore, the author believes that it is very important to maintain the independent operation of map department in "here" brand strategy, even when necessary, it is possible to introduce new strategic investment, and to give the map business full autonomy in foreign cooperation.

2, to simplify, focus on functional experience

Nokia's map data covers the world, providing excellent voice navigation capabilities in mainstream cities and supporting offline navigation, which is the perfect competitive edge. Whether it is the line navigation service or LBS related products, users will always be accurate in the first place, as for other gorgeous functions (3D map, city lens, etc.) just play the role of icing on the cake. In addition, due to the numerous versions of the Android operating system, the author suggests that the Nokia map should be as perfect as possible to fit more ROM, while establishing communication channels with users, and constantly improve themselves and win trust.

3, complete free and open, cultivate ecological chain

As for whether to hand over the maps to the best resources, Elop stressed that "will guarantee the difference with the Windows Phone Alliance platform." I do not think this is a good idea, since to compete with Google and Apple, you should take out all of their "weapons", the success of Android is a good example, only with an open attitude to attract more high-quality resources to build platform ecological chain.

4. Key area layout

In addition to the traditional battlefield in Europe and the United States, the author believes that the Nokia should focus on China and other emerging economies, where the largest smartphone incremental market, but also easy to move from the basic business system to value-added services. Compared with Google's embarrassing situation in China, Nokia has maintained good relations with the Chinese government and operators, especially China Mobile, and has a legitimate map-mapping qualification. Nokia also has a strong brand advantage, easy to meet local characteristics, in the map, navigation based on the business with local enterprises on social, electrical business, location and other business cooperation can also be very good open the situation.