US search service, a call and pay a taxi or private drivers, according to The New York Times, Nokia Here is willing to buy for $ 3 billion. However, interest in the asset and the largest exhibit automobile giants Germany (Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW), as well as Chinese search engine Baidu.
Currently, the most popular in the US geo-services is Google Maps, however, outside of America is somewhat different. For example, a navigation system developed by the largest Finnish electronics manufacturer, is set to 80% of car GPS.
Currently, the disposition is: Google Maps uses a billion users around the world, Here – ten times less. However, the Google product is preferably selected owners of smartphones and Nokia Here – car owners.
Uber idea to acquire Nokia Here – provide a reliable connection between the driver and passenger. The German automaker is pursuing some other goal – the development of autonomous vehicles; Experts note that the use of the product for Google this is associated with considerable difficulties. In addition, automobile giants will earn revenue from licensing fees from companies that want to use Nokia Here as an alternative to Google Maps, and other geo-services.
Today Uber has positioned itself on the market not only as the creator of the application to call a taxi, but as a logistics company. The ambitions of its owners grow and multi-million dollar deal, the date of the conclusion of which is to predict no one can, talks about the importance of mapping services. They need not only drivers, but also logistics giants like Amazon and FedEx, which offer track the movement of goods on real maps. Startups in particular, Airbnb, also see a map service a necessary tool for business development.
Recall that in March bought Uber deCarta, software company, founded more than a decade ago in San Jose, California, in April – a few dozen engineers hired to develop a mapping software.
