New Delhi: If reports are to be believed, Nokia is looking to re-enter the smartphone market in 2016, and is also working on several new technologies including virtual reality.
As per a report by Re/code, the Finnish company which was once the world’s largest mobile manufacturer is set to make a comeback in the smartphone market with a business model similar to what it used to launch the Nokia N1 tablet.
Nokia had launched the N1 tablet last year with a brand-licensing agreement with Foxconn that made the established Chinese OEM responsible for manufacturing, distribution, and sales of the tablet.
Re/code reported the company is looking at a similar brand-licensing agreement for its smartphone business revival, and that it will not be entering the intensely competitive manufacturing sphere again.
Post the acquisition of its devices and services business by Microsoft, Nokia was split into three companies – Nokia Networks (the telecommunications wing that just announced a takeover of Alcatel-Lucent), Here (the company’s navigation, mapping, and location services subsidiary), and Nokia Technologies (the company responsible for licensing of Nokia’s portfolio of patents and developing new products such as the Nokia N1 tablet and the Z Launcher).
Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia’s devices and services business stipulated Nokia could no longer use its brand on smartphones till Q4 2016, and on feature phones for 10 years. Thus, the Finnish firm has to wait till the end of the year to avoid legal tussles.
However, there are not too many details as to what Nokia is looking to launch with its re-entry into the consumer smartphone market next year.