Microsoft’s headline-grabbing acquisition of (most of) Nokia’s handset division dominated the airwaves this morning but among all the coverage was a piece from Techcrunch on the bit that Nokia is left with.

That is, somewhat clumsily, called HERE and it is a software business building on top of the maps division. This business is focused on providing in-car navigation solutions for cars, but also, and most importantly, on developing the integration between cars and mobile platforms in a branded and white label fashion.

This just could be a very rich space. Despite the obvious moves from IOS and Android to move into the car space, the reality in most vehicles (my Mercedes being a case in point) lags very far behind.

Potentially HERE could carve out a very lucrative future in providing the fiddly bits that make slowly-evolving cars work seamlessly with  the fast-moving consumer electronics that we all want to integrate with them.

Update

Read more on the connected car and what it means for platform providers and the cellcos in this thought-piece from Rethink.