Back to the future: Nokia prepares for mobile comeback

The former world leader in mobile phone sales sold its handset business to Microsoft in late 2013 and has since focused on its telecoms network equipment business.

Nokia is plotting a return to the consumer technology arena as it hires software experts and begins testing new products. The openings for the post includes Android engineers specialising in the operating software Nokia mobile devices will use.

Nokia had also planned to lay off about 70 people at the division, according to a May announcement, but that the figure has been halved.

Nokia is hoping to make a comeback into the mobile phone market. Now, Nokia’s technology division is working on new consumer product designs with 600 or so employees in the department.

The company launched an Android tablet called the N1 in China in January and unveiled a “virtual-reality camera” last week.

Also the Android app Z launcher which organizes Smartphone content was launched; all these can be termed as the steps of Nokia to be back.

When it buys Alcatel-Lucent it will also get its paws on Bell Labs – a U.S. research centre whose scientists have won eight Nobel prizes.

At the beginning of August, Nokia formally announced an agreement to sell its HERE mapping business to German automakers – including Audi, AG, BMW and Daimler AG – for $3.07 billion.

“Rather than doing what it did before and building out an entire manufacturing process, this time it would be looking to license its brand and some of its technology to a manufacturing partner who will do most of the heavy lifting”, Gleeson added.

The company generates the bulk of income from selling telecoms network equipment to operators like Vodafone and T-Mobile, but Gartner analyst Sylvain Fabre says the firm wants to keep a presence in the consumer market. “Barriers to entry in the handset market are lower than ever and nearly anyone can enter the smartphone market”.

“The brand will not help much if the product is similar to what is already being sold out there”.