Nokia ties up with Stanford for new lab

PALO ALTO, Calif.--You can't do it all yourself, so cell phone giant Nokia has opened a second university lablet. This one's here in Palo Alto, down the street from Stanford University.

The lablet, similar to one located near MIT, will essentially serve as an incubation center where Nokia researchers can collaborate with academics and students at Stanford. Nokia will also likely use the university as a market research facility; right next door you have a few thousand people in the 18-25 demographic for testing purposes. (Foothill Junior College is nearby too, but it doesn't have the same name cache, although the student radio station is superior.)

"We have to pick and choose. We can't possibly develop all of the technology that Nokia needs," said Bob Iannucci, with the Nokia Research Center. The Palo Alto center currently employs around 35 and will employ around 70 a year from now.

Stanford will likely benefit from research grants. With federal funds dwindling, private sector grants are increasingly important.

Intel helped pioneer the university lablet concept, opening facilities at Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon and the University of Washington. However, the company is shutting down its facility at Cambridge University in England.