• Nokia N1

Nokia N1 (Photo : YouTube)

People thought Nokia was done in the smartphones business after it sold its Lumia line to Microsoft in 2014, but they thought wrong.

Nokia's deal with Microsoft forbids them from developing any handset that includes their name until 2016. Leaked information shows that the Finland-based tech giant is prepping for its return in the mobile market.

Like Us on Facebook

The sources said that Nokia is already working on a new smartphone model slated to be launched early in 2016. Other details on its plan for the new Nokia smartphone are still unclear, but the group responsible is said to be Nokia Technologies, who is also behind the Nokia N1 tablet and the Z launcher for Android.

Nokia is expected to follow the same strategy it used with its Nokia N1 tablet, according to Phone Dog. The company will only be designing and licensing the hardware, but will not be manufacturing the device itself. However, the Nokia brand name will still be used for the finished product.

Mobile devices are not the only thing Nokia is interested in. The leaked reports also suggest that the communications company is also testing the waters in growing tech such as virtual reality. However, Nokia is not commenting on the floating rumors.

Nokia is currently busy with its recent acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent for $16.5 billion. Together, the company will be known as one Nokia Corporation, which will set its sights on the Internet of Things and cloud computing, according to PC Mag.

Other tech sectors that Nokia Corporation will be diving in include the 5G network development, imaging, sensors, analytics and software-defined networking.