Nokia’s plans to coming back to mobile, press release confirms phone path via brand licensing

Nokia’s been pretty coy regarding commenting on coming back to making devices. And then we saw N1 and many folks speculated that a smartphone with Nokia again isn’t that much of a stretch.

Nokia knows that for 14 years they were the undisputed biggest phone maker ever in the world. Nokia answers quite honestly that their return to making mobile devices is ‘complicated’. Nokia wants to bring their iconic design, tech and innovations to mobile but do it in a different way as before. Much like the N1, they’ll be looking for a world class partner to take on those responsibilities of manufacturing, sales, marketing and customer support. Nokia designs and lends their still valuable brand name.

In terms of dates, the press release is quite candid that the soonest this could happen was Q4 2016.

As we agreed with Microsoft, the soonest that could happen is Q4 2016 — so it’s safe to say Nokia won’t be back (at least in phone form…) before then.

The N1 method works to everyone’s strengths. Nokia brand kept relevant. Named partner will reap majority of ‘wins’ as Nokia doesn’t have to bear all the risks of attempting to get back into the phone game.

Cheers Alvester for the tip!

Check out the full press release:

Nokia comments on media speculation about mobile devices

The following has been posted by Robert Morlino, spokesman for Nokia Technologies

July 13, 2015

For 14 years Nokia was the biggest cell phone maker in the world, and the brand became a household name — one that evoked quality, innovation and human connection. The brand is still recognized that way by millions of people around the world, which is incredibly gratifying and a huge compliment for the people who helped create it. So it’s not surprising that today, the question comes up all the time: will Nokia return to mobile devices?

The answer is: it’s complicated.

Let’s take it from the top. As you probably know, we sold essentially all of our Devices & Services business to Microsoft in April 2014. With it went all of the enormous manufacturing, marketing and channel distribution capabilities you need to be in the business of making & selling phones.

The Nokia that exists today remains focused on the connected world, through mobile network infrastructure, location & mapping services, and technology development & licensing. We also aim to continue bringing our iconic design capabilities and technology innovation to the mobile space, and in the form of amazing products people can someday hold in their hands. However, we’ll do it in a completely different way from before.

The right path back to mobile phones for Nokia is through a brand-licensing model. That means identifying a partner that can be responsible for all of the manufacturing, sales, marketing and customer support for a product.

If and when we find a world-class partner who can take on those responsibilities, we would work closely with them to guide the design and technology differentiation, as we did with the Nokia N1 Android tablet. That’s the only way the bar would be met for a mobile device we’d be proud to have bear the Nokia brand, and that people will love to buy.

To summarize, we will look for the right partner who can take on the heavy lifting and work closely with us to deliver a great product. As we agreed with Microsoft, the soonest that could happen is Q4 2016 — so it’s safe to say Nokia won’t be back (at least in phone form…) before then.

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Category: Nokia