Nokia mobile phones

The Finnish company Nokia is one of the oldest brands in the telecoms industry. The company has been in existence since 1871, but it was not until 1982 that it began manufacturing mobile phones. It would eventually grow to become the world’s largest mobile phone manufacturer. However, today’s Nokia is no longer what it used to be – though not for the reason you might be thinking.

Snake

Say ‘Nokia’, and you think ‘Snake’! For those of you who sometimes find yourselves longing for the good old days, you can play the game below once again. Can you beat your old high score?

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 tyres, cables, electronics and even gas masks. In 1977, under the leadership of CEO Kari Kairamo, Nokia decided to focus exclusively on consumer electronics. Following a number of acquisitions, Nokia turned its attention to products such as computers, televisions and mobile phones. It was highly successful in this regard; at one point, Nokia was the third-largest TV manufacturer in Europe. But Nokia really came into its own after it decided in 1992 to focus exclusively on telecoms.

The rise of the GSM network would lead to staggering sales figures for Nokia phones. In the ‘Top 10 Best-Selling Phones’ of all time, Nokia occupies no fewer than seven places. The number one, the Nokia 1110, sold a staggering 250 million units. The company also enjoyed success in the smartphone industry with the N-series, which was particularly praised for its camera features.

However, the Symbian platform proved no match for touchscreen iPhones and low-cost Android smartphones. Sales went into freefall from 2009 onwards, after which, under the leadership of former Microsoft manager Stephen Elop, the company shifted its focus entirely to Windows Phone in 2011. This would later prove to be a strategic mistake. From 2011 onwards, the company posted loss after loss due to a lack of success and the loss of Symbian customers. To stay afloat, it saw no other option in 2013 but to sell its entire mobile phone division to Microsoft. The company would never again release a Nokia-branded phone and began to focus primarily on selling network equipment for the telecoms market.

Microsoft, too, did little with the acquired Nokia division. It made the 7,800 employees it had taken on redundant, wrote off $7.6 billion and halted the development of Windows Phone / 10 Mobile. Microsoft sold the rights to manufacture phones under the Nokia name to the Finnish company HMD Global. These phones are manufactured by the Chinese firm Foxconn and bear the Nokia name, but are not designed, manufactured or sold by Nokia.

HMD Global

HMD Global was founded in 2016 by former Nokia executives and launched its first Nokia-branded phone in 2017. The company focuses primarily on Google’s Android One platform, which enables it to release updates quickly and support phones for a long time. This approach is appreciated by consumers, as Nokia finally reappeared in the ‘Top 10 Best-Selling Mobile Phone Brands’ list in 2018. This is remarkable for a company that almost nobody recognises by its own name.

Android One

The current Nokia phones available in shops run Android One. This is a pure version of Android that must meet strict standards set by Google. As a result, smartphones running Android One can be updated quickly and feel almost identical to one another, as they do not use a so-called ‘skin’ (also known as an interface). HMD Global’s models stand out in terms of price point and camera features. The company was one of the first to release premium, high-end Android One models and is continuing the long-standing Nokia partnership with the German firm Carl Zeiss.

Nokia icons

Chances are your first mobile was a Nokia. The company sold billions of handsets, and some models became true icons. The Nokia 3310, for example, of which an estimated 126 million units were sold. This simple model was virtually indestructible and featured the popular game Snake. HMD Global even released a remake of it in 2017.

Other notable icons include the 1996 Communicator, considered one of the first smartphones, and the Nokia 8110, which featured in the film *The Matrix* with its slide mechanism. The company was also keen to experiment with unusual designs, such as the swivelling 3250, the buttonless 7280, the flip-keyboard 6810, the 3650 with its round keypad, and the F1 steering-wheel-shaped 3300.

At their peak, however, it was the models from the multimedia N-series and business-oriented E-series that stole the show. The N95 and E71 flew off the shelves. Nokia also enjoyed considerable success for a time with its N-Gage models, which were primarily geared towards gaming.