Nokia and Yahoo team up on mobile email, maps and IM

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Nokia and Yahoo have joined forces to combine the companies' offerings in email, instant messaging (IM), maps and navigation.

As part of the deal, Nokia will become the sole provider of Yahoo’s maps and navigation services, which will be branded as “powered by Ovi”, due to the integration of the mobile manufacturer’s Ovi Maps service.

Conversely, Yahoo will be the exclusive provider of Nokia’s email and IM offerings known as Ovi Mail and Ovi Chat. The pair will also work on making it simple for people to use Ovi user IDs across certain Yahoo services.

The firms expect some of these co-branded services will be available from the second half of 2010, while others will be opened up in 2011.

“Delivering great user experiences - both online and on your mobile - is what this alliance is all about,” said Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, chief executive of Nokia, in a statement.

“We're excited to expand the reach of our best-in-class Mail and Messenger services, bringing personalised experiences to more people across the mobile web, particularly in emerging markets where we are seeding the next generation of Yahoo users,” added Carol Bartz, Yahoo’s chief executive, in her own statement.

The deal is an intriguing one for two firms looking to hold onto share in their respective markets. Yahoo is looking to stay relevant against dominant Google and Microsoft's Bing. Nokia still has the biggest share of the mobile market, but while it has success with feature phones, it lags behind in the more lucrative smartphone area against rivals like Research in Motion and Apple.

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