Nokia Closes Kirkland Office, Cuts Services

Finnish mobile giant Nokia (NYSE: [[ticker:NOK]]) said today it is halting investment in its first big Internet services effort, built around technology from the Seattle firm Twango, which it bought in 2007. As part of this strategic shift, Nokia is closing its office in Kirkland, WA, but says it is keeping the photo and video sharing service, called Ovi Share (ovi means “door” in Finnish), in its current state. The closure news was first reported by TechFlash.

Author: Gregory T. Huang

Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003. Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.