January 28, 2011 02:00 ET
Nokia to join forces with SINA and Tencent, China's leading Internet service providers, on location based services through Ovi Maps
BEIJING--(Marketwire - January 28, 2011) -
Beijing, PRC - Nokia announced today that it has signed agreements with
China's
two leading Internet service providers, SINA and Tencent. Both SINA and
Tencent
services will be seamlessly integrated with Nokia's Ovi Maps in China,
inviting
millions of people to share their location with friends and communities
through
Ovi Maps on their favorite social network.
Users of SINA microblog and Tencent's online community (QQ) will be able to
share their location through Nokia mobile devices, check-in to locations
and be
able to upload location based content such as recommendations and comments
of
restaurants, shops and movie theatres. The first location based services
for
SINA and Tencent customers through Ovi Maps are planned to be available
during
the first quarter of 2011.
"This collaboration with SINA and Tencent marks a significant milestone, as
we
bring together mobile internet and location based services in China. More
than
250 million people are using a Nokia device in China and with this
partnership,
we can help people share their location with their friends and communities
through Ovi Maps on their favorite social network," said Phil Kemp, Vice
President, Services, Nokia.
"With Nokia's Ovi Maps and Sina's location based services we will be able
to
offer SINA netizens new dimensions to their social networking. The mobile
internet in China is growing rapidly and location based services will
increase
user generated content, making services more interactive and fun to use,"
said
Wang Gaofei, Vice President of SINA.
"Location and context are becoming the core elements of mobile social
networking
services and we are proud to partner in this area with Nokia, the leading
player
in the mobile industry. We believe that with Nokia's Ovi Maps, we will
offer
more added value to the users of QQ Mobile Online Services, "said Liu
Chengmin,
President of Mobile Business, Tencent.
SINA Corporation is a leading online media company and mobile value-added
service provider for China and for the global Chinese communities. With a
branded network of localized websites targeting Greater China and overseas
Chinese, SINA provides an array of services, including region-focused
online
portals, MVAS, social networking service (SNS), blog, audio and video
streaming,
album, online games, email, search, classified listings, fee-based
services, e-
commerce and enterprise e-solutions
Tencent, founded in 1998, is one of China's largest and most used Internet
services portal offering Internet value-added services, mobile and
telecommunications value-added services and online advertising. Tencent's
leading Internet platforms in China - QQ (QQ Instant Messenger), QQ.com, QQ
Games, Qzone, 3g.QQ.com, SoSo, PaiPai and Tenpay - have brought together
China's
largest Internet community, to meet the various needs of Internet users
including communication, information, entertainment, e-commerce and others.
As
of September 30, 2010, the active QQ user accounts for QQ IM amounted to
636.6
million while its peak simultaneous online user accounts reached 118.7
million.
About Nokia
At Nokia, we are committed to connecting people. We combine advanced
technology
with personalized services that enable people to stay close to what matters
to
them. Every day, more than 1.3 billion people connect to one another with a
Nokia device - from mobile phones to advanced smartphones and high-
performance
mobile computers. Today, Nokia is integrating its devices with innovative
services through Ovi (www.ovi.com), including music, maps, apps, email and
more.
Nokia's NAVTEQ is a leader in comprehensive digital mapping and navigation
services, while Nokia Siemens Networks provides equipment, services and
solutions for communications networks globally.
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originality of the information contained therein.
Source: NOKIA via Thomson Reuters ONE
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