Nokia has signed an agreement to acquire substantially all assets of bit-side GmbH and announced its 2008 fourth-quarter results.

Bit-side is a privately owned Berlin, Germany-based professional services and software company with 39 employees. By acquiring bit-side, Nokia plans to strengthen and accelerate its mobile development for Nokia Maps.

Nokia has been working with bit-side since 2007, and bit-side has become a strategic development partner to Nokia.

Nokia believes that context plays a pivotal role in the evolution of the Internet.

To make the Internet truly personal, Nokia is building the ability for people to always know where they are and what is around them, to know where their friends are and what they are doing and how they are feeling. Nokia calls this social location.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2009. Bit-side will be integrated to Nokia's Services unit.

Meanwhile, Nokia released its fourth-quarter results for 2008.

"In recent weeks, the macroeconomic environment has deteriorated rapidly, with even weaker consumer confidence, unprecedented currency volatility and credit tightness continuing to impact the mobile communications industry," said Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, CEO of Nokia, Espoo, Finland, in a written statement.

"We are taking action to reduce overall costs and to preserve our strong capital structure," he said. "This is clearly our top priority in the current economic environment.

"However, it is important for Nokia to continue investing at the proper pace in future growth. We believe Nokia has a tremendous opportunity to capture value as the Internet services market evolves and grows. Being a catalyst for change has been our heritage and it will be our future."

Nokia had net sales of $16.45 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008, down 19 percent year-on-year and up 3 percent sequentially -- down 18 percent and up 1 percent at constant currency.

The Finnish company's devices and services division had net sales of $10.5 billion, down 27 percent year-on-year and down 5 percent sequentially -- down 25 percent and 8 percent at constant currency.

Nokia's services and software net sales were $204.7 million, up 37 percent sequentially.

The company estimated that industry mobile device volumes were 305 million units, down 9 percent year-on-year and down 2 percent sequentially.

Nokia mobile device volumes were 113.1 million units, down 15 percent year-on-year and down 4 percent sequentially.

Nokia had an estimated mobile device market share of 37 percent in fourth-quarter 2008, down from 40 percent in fourth-quarter 2007 and down from 38 percent in third-quarter 2008.

The full year 2008 estimated market share was 39 percent.

Nokia's devices and services division had a gross margin of 33.8 percent, down from 36.5 percent in third-quarter 2008.

Meanwhile, Navteq had net sales of $265.45 million, up 31 percent sequentially from $202 million, and non-IFRS operating margin of 25.7 percent, from 18.5 percent in Q3 2008.

Nokia Siemens Networks had net sales of $5.57 billion, down 5 percent year on year and up 24 percent sequentially, down 4 percent and up 23 percent at constant currency.

Nokia Siemens Networks achieved substantially all of the $2.6 billion of targeted annual cost synergies by the end of 2008.

Operating cash flow was negative $388.5 million, including the one-time $2.2 billion lump-sum cash payment made to Qualcomm as part of the previously announced license agreement.

Excluding the Qualcomm payment, operating cash flow was $1.8 billion.

Nokia had total cash and other liquid assets of $8.8 billion at the end of Q4 2008.

Nokia expects industry mobile device volumes in the first quarter 2009 to decline sequentially to a greater extent than the seasonal sequential decrease in the first quarter of the past few years.

Nokia expects its mobile device market share in the first quarter 2009 to be at approximately the same level sequentially.

While noting the extremely limited visibility, Nokia now expects 2009 industry mobile device volumes to decline approximately 10 percent from 2008 levels.

Nokia expects the decline to be greater in the first half than in the second half of the year.

This is an update to Nokia's earlier estimate that 2009 industry mobile device volumes would decline 5 percent or more from 2008 levels.

Nokia continues to target an increase in its market share in mobile devices in 2009.

Nokia now targets its non-IFRS operating margin in its devices and services division to be more than 10 percent in the first half 2009 and to be in the teens for the second half 2009, rather than in the teens for the full year 2009 as previously targeted.

Nokia targets its annualized non-IFRS operating expense run rate in devices and services to be lower than $7.76 billion by the end of 2010.

This would represent a reduction of more than $905.875 million to the annualized run rate at the beginning of 2009.

Nokia targets that a majority of the reduction will happen during 2009.

Nokia and Nokia Siemens Networks continue to expect the mobile infrastructure and fixed infrastructure and related services market to decline 5 percent or more in 2009, from 2008 levels.

Nokia and Nokia Siemens Networks continue to target for Nokia Siemens Networks market share to remain constant in 2009, compared to 2008.

Nokia makes a wide range of mobile devices with services and software that enable people to experience music, navigation, video, television, imaging, games and business mobility.

Developing and growing its offering of consumer Internet services, as well as its enterprise solutions and software, is a key area of focus.

Nokia also provides equipment and services for communications networks through Nokia Siemens Networks.