Nokia Cell Phones

The Finnish Nokia is one of the oldest brands in the telecom world. The company exists since 1871 but it only started making mobile phones in 1982. It would eventually become the largest phone manufacturer in the world. However, today's Nokia is not what it used to be but for another reason why you might think now.

Nokia history

Nokia was founded in 1871 by Fredrik Idestam and Leo Mechelin in the Finnish village of Nokia. The company has a rich history of business activities ranging from wood pulp, car tires, cables, electronics and even gas masks. In 1977 Nokia, under the leadership of CEO Kari Kairamo, would focus solely on consumer electronics. After several acquisitions, Nokia focused on products such as computers, televisions and mobile phones. It was very successful in that, Nokia was at one point the second largest TV manufacturer in Europe. But Nokia became really big after only focusing on telecom in 1992.

The rise of the GSM network would lead to dizzying sales of Nokia phones. In the 'Top 10 Best selling phones' ever, Nokia occupies no less than 7 places. Of the number 1; the Nokia 1110, no less than 250 million copies have been sold. The company also had success in the smartphone industry with the N-series, whose camera characteristics were mainly praised.

However, the Symbian platform proved to be no match for the touch-sensitive iPhones and cheap Android smartphones. Sales fell into free fall in 2009, after which, under the leadership of former Microsoft manager Stephen Elop, it would focus entirely on Windows Phone in 2011. A strategic mistake like that would turn out later. The company recorded losses from 2011 onwards due to the lack of success and runaway Symbian customers. To keep its head above water, in 2013 it saw no other option than to sell the entire telephony division to Microsoft. The company would never release its own Nokia phone again and began to focus primarily on selling network equipment for the telecoms market.

Microsoft also did little with the acquired Nokia part. It sent home the acquired 7,800 employees, wrote off 7.6 billion U.S. dollars stopped the development of Windows Phone / 10 Mobile. Microsoft sold the right to make phones under Nokia name to the Finnish HMD Global. Those phones are made by the Chinese company Foxconn and carry the name Nokia but are not designed, made or sold by Nokia.

HMD Global

HMD Global was founded in 2016 by former Nokia drivers and released its first phone under Nokia name in 2017. The company's main focus is on Google's Android One platform, which allows it to quickly release updates and support phones for long periods of time. A formula that is appreciated by consumers because Nokia was finally back in the 'Top 10 Best Selling Phone Brands' list in 2018. Remarkable for a company that hardly anyone knows under his own name.

Android One

Current Nokia phones in store are running Android One. That's a pure version of Android that has to meet a strict Google standard. Smartphones with Android One can therefore be quickly updated and feel almost the same as each other because they do not use a so-called skin (also known as an interface). HMD Global models distinguish themselves in terms of price point and camera characteristics. The company was one of the first to release premium high-end Android One models and continues the old Nokia collaboration with German company Carl Zeiss.

Nokia icons

Chances are your first mobile was a Nokia. The company sold billions of devices and some models grew like real icons. For example, the Nokia 3310 of which an estimated 126 million copies went over the counter. The simple model was virtually indestructible and contained the popular game Snake. HMD Global even released a remake in 2017.

Other striking icons are the 1996 Communicator which is considered one of the first smartphones and the Nokia 8110 which featured with its slide mechanism in the film The Matrix. The company was also strong in trying out strange designs such as the swivel 3250, buttonless 7280, keypad opening 6810, the 3650 with its round keypad and the F1 steering wheel shaped 3300.

At its peak, however, it was the multimedia N-series and business E-series models that stole the show. The N95 and E71 were frequently over the counter. Nokia also made a name for itself for some time with its Ngage models that were mainly focused on gaming.