It has already been confirmed that Nokia is going to make a return to the smartphone business and today the company has revealed some more details about its return. Nokia Android smartphones will arrive early next year, they might be unveiled at the Mobile World Congress 2017, the company has finalized a licensing agreement with HMD Global which is basically licensing this iconic name from the Finnish company and slapping it on its smartphones.
HMD Global also happens to be based in Finland. The licensing deal gives it the right to use the Nokia brand for mobile devices. This brand licensing deal is going to be in place for at least ten years.
As the deal has been finalized, Nokia proper has launched a new smartphones section on its website which confirms that Nokia-branded smartphones and tablets are coming back after the company decided to sell its handset business to Microsoft. Redmond subsequently shelved the Nokia brand in favor of its own Lumia brand.
The first Nokia Android smartphones will arrive next year and they will be sold alongside Nokia feature phones. There have already been some rumors about what these smartphones will bring to the table but it’s just speculation at this point.
Nokia is a name that is synonymous with well-built mobile phones and HMD Global certainly wants to take full advantage of that. Whether the smartphones will be good enough to steal customers from the Samsungs and Apples of the world remains to be seen.