Nokia Android smartphones to launch in 2017, HMD confirms

After dominating the market in late 1990s and early 2000s, Nokia failed to keep pace with changing technology and consumer preferences and its devices business (the mobile network business continues independently and remains strong) was sold to Microsoft in 2014. HMD is also pinning its expectations on Android, the mobile operating system developed by Google that is now used by 86 percent of the world’s smartphones. At first that was a choice made by Nokia, but later was reinforced after Microsoft bought the handset business. The company has since announced a $7.6bn write-down on the acquisition and effectively pulled out of smartphone hardware. Under the deal, Nokia was obliged not to put its name on handsets until the end of 2016.

Finnish brand Nokia is looking to make 2017 as the year where they will once again shake the competition.

Nokia is gearing up for a grand 2017 as the mobile maker is returning to what it became known for. HMD has formed a leadership team partly consisting of Nokia veterans to spearhead the battle. Nokia D1C models are in prototype testing stage and there is a slight chance that the company might alter the specification of the device before finalizing the product.

The company combines the agility and attitude of a start-up business with the expertise of some of the industry’s most experienced and passionate senior leaders.

Like most other OEMs, HMD Global will not be manufacturing the smartphones themselves, rather leaving that in the hands of Foxconn.

For now, the company is sticking to simplistic feature phones. That said, brand loyalty only goes so far. “The key to its success will be driving scale”. The company is set to launch new smartphones in 2017, powered by Google’s Android.

Nokia has officially launched its comeback into the smartphone market. “Consumers are looking for technology with clear objective that is useful, exciting and with a brand they can trust, so our approach will focus on true, core user experiences and a dedication to quality”. “Consumers are looking for technology with clear goal that is useful, exciting and with a brand they can trust, so our approach will focus on true, core user experiences and a dedication to quality”.

The overall mobile phone market (smartphone and feature phones) shipment closed at 72.3 million units in the third quarter with an 18.1 per cent sequential growth.

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New phones are coming from Nokia. Recent reports suggest it will release three smartphones. HMD Global will be the official Nokia phones licensee and they’re pretty excited about landing the deal with Nokia.