Mapping system could be Nokia's hidden gem

[BERLIN] For the first time in more than three decades, Nokia faces the future without being a player in the global phone business. On Friday, the company completed the sale of its beleaguered handset business to Microsoft for US$7.5 billion.

The deal's closing puts a spotlight on what remains of Nokia, which includes the Finnish company's mobile networking business and a research and intellectual property unit. But it is Nokia's efforts to map the entire world digitally that could prove to be the company's hidden gem - or at least emerge as a compelling, multibillion-dollar takeover target.

Nokia's goal with its mapping system, known as Here and developed in Berlin, is simple but ambitious: to build the world's most detailed and up-to-date digital maps.