Come 2017, Nokia will hit your nostalgic nerves to make a grand comeback to the mobile phone market. The phoenix the once Nokia was, can it make a comeback in the world of high specification smartphones from Apple, Samsung and a plethora of new manufacturers? Nokia reportedly plans to bring out some feature phones before it comes through to the plan of launching an Android device. Packed with the things which made Nokia a customer favourite, like a great build, good battery life, efficient software, and amazing cameras. the company can still threaten the top smartphone makers in the world today. After selling out to Microsoft in 2013, now previous Nokia employees and a company named HMD Global have got the brand rights from Microsoft and have also tied up with manufacturer Foxconn to bring out new devices next year.
But from the efforts that the company has been taking, it is clear they want to stir nostalgia among the buyers, which might be their biggest bet against the likes of Samsung, Apple and some Chinese companies. After the tie-up with Microsoft did not work out, and the demise of the Lumia series, Nokia have practically been living on the feature (dumb) phones, especially in India and other Asian countries. HMD recently was reported to have taken over the feature phone business from Microsoft. Nokia though has no investments in HMD, will get royalties for the brand and patents. HMD will launch smartphone products in the first half of 2017 while Nokia-branded feature phones are expected to come in within this month, HMD Global CEO Arto Nummela told PTI.
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Nokia feature phones business have been plummeting lately, and Nokia seems to be taking a cue from the loss and might bring out some amazing feature phones before it enters the smartphone market. When it comes to the world where smartphones dominate, it will take some time for Nokia to even enter the 3rd place where Chinese company Huawei is making rapid strides. But the feature phone can be a hit in Asian countries. According to an IDC report, mobile phone market including smartphone and feature phones shipments for the third quarter closed at 72.3 million units which were an 18.1 percent growth. Nummela told PTI, “India is a key market for Nokia’s next phase of this journey. It is absolutely important. We want to be successful (in India) and we will also tailor our offerings not only for feature phones but for smartphones for Indian consumers.”
