Nokia enters mobile advertising market, buys Enpocket

Get ready for ads to invade your cell phone. Yes, today Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE: NOK) announced that it is purchasing Enpocket (the price tag was not disclosed). Enpocket has a sophisticated platform to manage mobile advertising campaigns – using things such as SMS, MMS, and even video. The firm has deals with companies like Sprint (NYSE: S) and Vodafone.

Right now, the mobile ad market is fairly small – but it's expected to grow quickly. And, it looks like Nokia wants to be a part of the action.

I had a chance to interview Dipanshu Sharma, who is a wireless expert and founder of V-Enable (which is a mobile search provider). According to him:

"Quite exciting to see Nokia take an active role in overall mobile value chain than just handset sales. Nokia has a very strong presence in Europe and Asia, with their own advertising platform and where customers buy handsets mostly directly than through carriers.

"I guess after Google, Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Yahoo, Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) kept pushing Nokia to preload them and make statements that mobile advertising is a bigger play than online advertising in the long term, Nokia had to do something to be part of that value chain. Again, this deal shows the new leadership at Nokia is serious about being a solution for the consumer."

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates DealProfiles.com.