14 DAY TRIAL // Following the purchase of French telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent for €15.6 / $16.6 billion, Nokia has announced it is also in the process of reviewing its HERE Mapping business.
If we’re to believe the rumors that have been circling around for the past few weeks, Nokia might actually be looking to sell off the division. And as it appears, there are plenty of interested parties looking to make the acquisition, as a report that surfaced yesterday showed.
It seems that social media giant Facebook itself is looking into the opportunity, and so is local transportation service Uber.
But according to a new piece coming out of Bloomberg, another key player in the tech industry has its eyes out scrutinizing Nokia’s offer.
It appears Apple might be a potential buyer for Nokia’s HERE mapping business, and the Finnish company has apparently already approached Cupertino.
Other companies targeted to make the acquisition include important names in the industry like Alibaba, Amazon and Baidu. And there’s also the consortium of German carmakers that include BMW, Audi and Diamler.
Buying HERE Maps might actually be a good thing for Apple
It’s interesting to imagine the scenario in which Apple might actually end up purchasing Nokia’s HERE Maps. Cupertino launched its own mapping service back in 2012, but it was greeted with a lot of criticism. Since then, the application has failed to catch up with its main competitor, Google Maps.
But with the aid of HERE Maps, things might finally turn around in the right direction. Nokia’s application is actually quite popular with users around the world. For example, back in January, it was reported that the Android version of the app had been downloaded more than 1 million times from the Play store.
HERE Maps has proved to be so popular because it allows users to take any Android device (running Android 4.1 or later) and navigate offline, finding their way in as many as 118 different countries.
Considering what we just told you, Apple might benefit quite a lot from purchasing Nokia’s business. However, it might take a while before a deal can actually be finalized.
On the other hand, Nokia could choose to go with another suitor, like Amazon or maybe Facebook. We’ll just have to wait and see.