Nokia: Return Of A Legend?

Remember that time when merely having a Nokia N95 made you the coolest person in your gang? Or what about that 1100 model you used to survive an entire week with only 1 charge? Sadly, the last decade proved to be too much for the once great phone giant. Over the years we saw how the company rise and fall, to eventually disappearing from sight. But the past few months, we’ve seen the name making rounds with rumors of a possible comeback. So what’s really happening?

In The Beginning

It all started back in 1865, when a Finnish mining engineer named Fredrik Idestam built a pulp mill. By 1871, he had 2 pulp mills and had gotten together with his friend Leo Mechelin to form a shared company called, Nokia. A century later, the Nokia Corporation had gotten into a number of industries, including communications. In 1987, the company launched their first fully portable mobile phone called the Mobira Cityman 900. For the next 2 decades, Nokia would grow to become one of the best mobile phone manufacturers in the world. In 1992, Motorola was overtaken, thus becoming the best selling mobile phone brand in the world.

The Rise And Fall

We all know what followed next. They ruled the 1990 – 2008 era. From the Nokia 1100, the 3310, the N73 to the N95, the company’s phones proved to be quite the success. Its Symbian S60 based high end phones in particular, gained popularity. But with the advent of Android and iPhone OS, competition started getting pretty serious. In 2010, Nokia had already begun to develop a successor, under the name MeeGo. But an year later, the company partnered up with Microsoft and decided Windows Phone to be its primary Operating System. This decision ultimately proved to be its downfall as one of the world’s biggest names in the mobile phone industry.

Amidst falling sales and stock prices, the company came to a dire financial crisis. Therefore in 2013, it announced the sale of its mobile and devices division to Microsoft, which was later completed in April 2014. Thus Microsoft Mobile became the successor to its mobile devices division.

Following the sale of its device division, their primary focus diverted towards Nokia Networks, a data and communications equipment company based in Finland. Although the phones might have stopped coming, the phone giant wasn’t down and out completely. In 2014, they released the Nokia N1 tab (Android 5.0). An year later, they even released a 360 degree VR camera.

Nokia 6: A New Hope?

Rumor has it the company is aiming to make a comeback early this year. This proved to be more than just a rumor with HMD Global announcing their first Android smartphone under the Nokia name. In case you’re confused, HMD Global is a Finnish company that bought exclusive rights to use Nokia branding on mobile phones. Enter Nokia 6.

Packed with a 3000mAh battery, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor and 4 GB of RAM, the phone also comes with 64 GB of internal storage. On the outside, this will house a 5.5-inch Full HD display with 2.5D Gorilla Glass. Its rear camera will be 16 MP, accompanied by an 8 MP front facing camera. But there’s a catch. Sadly, the phone will only be available in China at JD.com for ¥1,699 (~$245), for now at least. It might take a while until we see the phone in these parts.

What To Expect

With the Mobile World Congress 2017 on the horizon, expectations are that HMD Global will be releasing more information on the Nokia 6, along with the details on the company’s 2017 plan for the Nokia brand. Regardless, it certainly seems exciting times are ahead for the once great phone giant.

So what do you think? Are you excited for a possible Nokia return? Leave a comment in the section below.