Nokia Facts: 10 Things You Didn't Know About the Finnish Giant

The following facts might be very useful for Nokia fans, but also for mobile phone users all over the world. The pieces of information presented here seem to be correct, but if you think you have another opinion and can make a full argumentation for it, feel free to share it. Also, if you have more original facts about Nokia, don't hesitate to leave your comments. So, here's a list with exactly 10 interesting things about the largest handset manufacturer in the world – Nokia.

The ringtone "Nokia tune" seems to be based on a 19th century guitar work named "Gran Vals" by Spanish musician Francisco Tarrega. Because the original name, "Grande Valse," which has been given by the Finnish giant, was too hard to remember, people started to call it 'Nokia Tune'. As more Nokia phones containing this ringtone were launched on the market, the company felt obliged to make the change into their phones also and renamed it to "Nokia Tune" around 1998.

Nokia's activity doesn't focus only on handset manufacturing, but also on network infrastructure, lately through Nokia Siemens Networks (previously Nokia Networks). Obviously, it is no wonder that the world's first commercial GSM call was made in 1991 in Helsinki over a Nokia-supplied network. The call was made by Prime Minister of Finland Harri Holkeri, who obviously was using a Nokia phone.

Nokia seems to be the world's largest digital camera manufacturer, which means that its camera phone sales have long exceeded those of any conventional camera maker.

More about Nokia tones - the 'Special' tone available to users of Nokia phones when receiving SMS messages seems to be the Morse code for 'SMS'. Furthermore, the 'Ascending' SMS tone is Morse code for the company's motto - 'Connecting People'. Finally, the "Standard" SMS tone is Morse code for 'M' (Message). Sadly, I don't know the Morse code, so I cannot confirm any of these.

For those looking for more in-depth info about Nokia phones, here's something very interesting. The Nokia corporate font is the AgfaMonotype Nokia Sans font, which was originally designed by Eric Spiekermann. Before using the currently font, the giant manufacturer was employing the Agfa Rotis Sans font in advertising and in its mobile phone user's guides.

The next fact is 100% true and in case you already know about the Japanese ancestral superstition that the number 4 means bad luck, you probably understand why the digit 4 never appears on handsets that are retailing in Asia. Because number 4 is considered unlucky in most parts of Southeast/East Asia, it doesn't appear in any Nokia model either.

Some financial facts cannot spoil the fun. Nokia was listed as the 20th most admirable company worldwide in Fortune's list of 2006 (1st in network communications, 4th non-US company). Also, Finns have ranked it many times as the best Finnish brand and employer.

Unlike other modern day handsets, Nokia phones do not automatically start the call timer when the call is connected, but they do so when the call is initiated. Unfortunately, this does not apply for Series 60-based handsets, which are the most spread these days.

Some historical fact can also come in handy, even if it's just for show. It seems that the giant manufacturer is sometimes called 'aikon' (Nokia backwards) by non-Nokia mobile phone users and by mobile software developers, because "aikon" is used in various SDK software packages, including Nokia's own Symbian S60 SDK.

The last fact concerns the name itself. Even if it was first established in 1865 by Fredrik Idestam on the banks of the Tammerkoski rapids in the town of Tampere, the company was later relocated in the town of Nokia. The name of the town originated from the river that flowed through the town. The river itself, Nokianvirta, was named after the old Finnish word originally meaning sable, later pine marten. Unfortunately, this small, black-furred predatory animal is now extinct.

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