Founded in Israel in 2008, Waze is one of the few services with detailed mapping information, making it a target for takeover speculation.

WSJ: Facebook in Talks to Buy Driving App Waze

And (speaking of real estate) which sort of ad is more likely to sell a house nowadays: the newspaper's truncated description with a single, low-resolution thumbnail, or a virtual tour with live mapping services and geographical and geopolitical information with feature comparisons to other properties available?

CNN: Why dirty up my hands with newsprint?

Acknowledging the point, Nokia's chief executive, Stephen Elop, has stressed that mapping services such as its City Lens app - which overlays information about nearby points of interest, shops and restaurants over a view captured by a phone's camera - will remain exclusive to its own devices.

BBC: Nokia to offer free maps app and service for rival handsets