Nokia smartphones are photographed with the Nokia logo on the background. (Photo : Reuters)
Finland-based communication company Nokia is going back to its roots as the company recently announced that it has plan of entering the mobile phone market again. Currently, Nokia is looking for a hardware partner and sets to launch a new device before the end of 2016.
In 2014, Nokia sold its smartphone division to Microsoft for $7 billion due to lackluster sales performance, according to USA Today. Currently, the Lumia brand of smartphones and tablets are being marketed under the Microsoft brand.
Nokia was once a dominant brand name when it comes to the mobile phone industry and it has led the market for almost 14 years, according to Tech Times. Nokia's market dominance began to dwindle when newer companies like Apple, HTC and Samsung started to market newer and more powerful devices.
Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia's smartphone division started speculations that Nokia is closing its doors to the phone market. A recent statement from the Nokia may have reinvigorated the rumor that the company is gearing up for a comeback.
Nokia Technologies spokesman Robert Morlino said, "The right path back to mobile phones for Nokia is through brand-licensing. That means identifying a partner that can be responsible for all of the manufacturing, sales, marketing and customer support for a product."
Morlino added that Nokia is currently searching for a world-class partner that could fulfill the responsibility that the company needs. Additionally, the spokesman said that due to the contract signed with Microsoft, the soonest Nokia can release a device will be in the fourth quarter of 2016.
