Whenever I hear the brand name Nokia, a sense of nostalgia rushes in. The iconic brand was the number one mobile handset maker for the longest time. It essentially created
the first proper smartphone thanks to Symbian OS which, at that point of time, had a excellent app support.
The company’s legacy also extended to feature phones. Nokia phones were known to be solid as a rock and I am sure many have seen the memes and trolls all around the internet. Oh and the battery life, I sure miss the days when I didn’t have to charge my phone everyday. I still remember my trustworthy N95. The flagship N-series handset. It had a unique dual-sliding mechanism that housed an alpha-numeric keypad as well as media buttons on the top. Sadly it got nicked from my car.
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| Nokia N95 |
The following years saw brands adopting touchscreens and in early 2007 a brand new competition arrived in the market, Apple. I think this was the time when Nokia started struggling. While the company had made touchscreen equipped phones in the past, this was a whole new game. The company launched the 5800, an attempt to take on Apple. It failed miserably. While Nokia was still using resistive touchscreen technology, Apple incorporated a capacitive touch display into the iPhone.
The following year saw Google jumping in the smartphone business with its own mobile operating system, Android. This added more trouble for Nokia, and the company took a drastic step by partnering with Microsoft. In my opinion, and I am sure most of you will agree, it was one the worst mergers in the tech industry. Nokia tried to sell Windows based smartphones under the ‘Lumia’ branding for a few years, eventually getting completely absorbed by Microsoft.
It is 2016 and like me, many Nokia fans still hope that the company makes a comeback. Well it is. In the past two years we heard numerous reports and legit information that Nokia will be coming back loaded with Android OS. HMD global, a Finnish company which is a subsidiary of Foxconn has the Nokia naming license and sells mobile devices under the name. It also sells Android based handsets and tablets.
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| Leaked Nokia roadmap |
A bunch of unconfirmed mockups have released in the past and a recent leak pointing to a budget handset with the model number D1C has been doing the rounds which could be the real deal. A chart citing upcoming plans for Nokia had also leaked. It reveals that the company will be investing around the VR space as well as making a comeback to the smartphone market in 2017. If these leaks do come out to be true, then we could see the Nokia legacy make a comeback.
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| Mockup of the upcoming Nokia D1C smartphone. Image courtesy: Weibo |
There are a few things however that the new Nokia should consider before jumping back into the market. Competition is strong and the company cannot afford to lose focus. Partnering with Microsoft was a big blunder and in my opinion a hazardous move for Nokia. The Windows Mobile ecosystem could never catch up to Android or iOS. The company now has no choice but to adopt Android. Having lost most of its apps like Here Maps, Mix Radio and many more, the Google owned mobile platform will be the safest bet.
In terms of designing the handsets, the company shouldn’t have any trouble considering its history of sturdy and long lasting devices. Having said that, experimenting right in the beginning could be dangerous as it first needs to set a strong footprint in the market. One area that might be an issue is the hardware. Consumers today first look at specifications and if Nokia doesn’t deliver on that front, it could lose valuable potential customers.
Hopefully the company has a plan and a strategy to tap in the market. Taking the right decisions would be crucial especially when it comes to sales and promotions. One mistake could once again destroy the company completely.
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