Nokia beefs up mobile developer support with Motally buy

In a move likely aimed at putting it on a more even keel with Apple's App Store, Nokia on Friday announced it had acquired mobile analytics firm Motally. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, and the acquisition is expected to complete before the end of the third quarter.

Motally's metrics help developers understand how their users are interacting with their applications. Nokia would adapt the company's technologies to work with its Symbian platform as well as Meego, Qt, and Java, although it plans to continue serving current customers.

The company currently has tools compatible with Apple's iOS platform, as well as BlackBerry and Android.

Nokia says the acquisition will allow developers for its platform to better monetize their applications. It also certainly appears that the company seems to understand that its overall offering is beginning to fall behind its much larger competitor Apple.

The Cupertino company has put a good deal of focus on the backend of the App Store, giving developers analytics tools as well as other services -- such as iAd -- intended to make applications more profitable. Ovi, Nokia's answer to the App Store, so far has not done that.

While Apple has certainly led the industry in terms of mobile application development and support, Nokia's Symbian operating system still has the largest share of the market overall. Data from research firm Gartner indicated it had just over 41 percent of the market in the quarter ending June 30, leading all other platforms.

Nokia did acquire a mobile ad service back in 2007 called Enpocket. However, the market did not take off as fast as the company may have expected, and plans to fully implement Enpocket into its services have been slow to occur.

Motally, based in San Francisco, Calif., was founded in 2008 and has a staff of eight people.