14 DAY TRIAL // Once the king of the smartphone market, Nokia has lost its supremacy and has become merely a shadow of its former glory. However, it seems that the Nokia brand still has a few fights left, since Android-based Nokia handsets might be coming to shelves in the near future.
After Microsoft sold its phone business to FIH Mobile and HMD Global for just $350 million, Nokia has announced that it will license its brand and intellectual property to HMD Global. The company will work on manufacturing and selling Android smartphones and tablets. This means that we will be seeing Nokia smartphones with Android OS in the near future.
HMD Global is a startup company based in Finland that has received an exclusive global license to produce Nokia phones, as well as tablets. In return for HMD Global using the brand name, Nokia will get royalties. HMD Global has also conditionally agreed to acquire the rights to use the Nokia name from Microsoft, but the terms of the deal weren’t revealed.
Nokia smartphones running Android OS
Meanwhile, HMD Global has partnered with FIH Mobile for full operational control of sales, marketing and distribution of Nokia-branded devices globally, following the purchase from Microsoft. This indicates that Nokia’s smartphones division will soon be revived and make a comeback on the international market.
Another interesting fact about HMD Global is that the company was founded by former Nokia employees, who ensured that Nokia had a seat at the HMD Board warrant that the quality and reputation of the Nokia brand are maintained.
This is not the first that we hear about a Nokia device with Android OS. Back in 2014, Nokia launched the 250$ N1 tablet running Android Lollipop 5.0 and with Z-Launcher on top, but it wasn’t widely available around the world. Now, the strategy seems to have changed, as upcoming Nokia phones will be sold globally.
At this point, there’s no information on when Nokia smartphones and tablets will hit the market or which Android OS they will be running. However, Nokia is rumored to launch the C1 with Android OS at the end of this year, running either Marshmallow 6.0.1 or the upcoming Android N.