14 DAY TRIAL // Nokia has finally admitted that it plans to re-enter the smartphone business beginning next year. However, the way this will be done is very different than what most of us might think.
Since the Finnish company sold all its Devices & Services business to Microsoft in April 2014, including all Nokia's manufacturing, marketing and channel distribution capabilities, it would be impossible to start in the smartphone business without them.
The good news is Nokia is aware that its brand is still recognized by millions of people around the world, which is why it is looking for another way to bring its products on the market as fast as possible.
In this regard, Nokia has just put out a press release that explains some of the issues it faces and how the company plans to return to the smartphone business.
Finding a suitable partner is vital for Nokia's smartphone business
So, instead of pouring in a lot of money in creating new marketing and distribution channels, as well as manufacturing lines for producing and selling its future smartphones, Nokia is now looking for a partner that will be in charge with all these aspects.
“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,” said Roberto Morlino, spokesman for Nokia Technologies.
According to Nokia, if the company finds a “world-class partner” that will be able and willing to take on all those responsibilities mentioned earlier, then Nokia will work closely with them to guide the design and technology differentiation, just like they did with the Nokia N1 tablet.
The band news is that the first Nokia-branded smartphone might not come so soon as we originally though. The Finnish company confirmed that “as we agreed with Microsoft, the soonest that could happen is Q4 2016.”