Nokia To Buy Mobile Analytics Company MotallyNokia To Buy Mobile Analytics Company Motally

Nokia has agreed to acquire Motally, a mobile analytics company that provides tools for tracking how people are using mobile Web sites and applications.

The Finnish mobile phone maker said Friday that it expected to complete the acquisition of the privately held, U.S. company in the third quarter. Nokia did not say how much it agreed to pay for Motally, which has just eight employees.

Motally currently offers its tools to developers building apps for the Apple iPad and iPhone, Research in Motion's BlackBerry and phones based on Google's Android operating system. In buying Motally, Nokia plans to add its phones to the mix, "enabling partners to better connect with their customers and optimize and monetize their offering," Marco Argenti, VP of media for Nokia, said in a statement.

Nokia offers mobile applications through its online store Ovi, much like Apple and manufacturers of Android phones offer applications through their respective stores. The availability of applications for smartphones has proven to be a major factor in hardware sales.

Nokia is the world's largest smartphone maker, accounting for 38% of the global market in the second quarter, according to research firm Canalys. However, in the United States, the world's largest market, Nokia's phones are far behind Android phones, the iPhone and BlackBerry.

With many mobile applications being built for the leading phones in the U.S., Nokia apparently decided to grab Motally in order to give it direct access to developers. At the same time, Nokia plans to continue serving Motally's existing customer base.

Motally's mobile Web site tools enable app developers and publishers to identify user visits, track searches and monitor how people are using the site. For mobile applications, Motally's products can also capture demographic data and let developers set up tracking for specific events.