Nokia's return to the mobile space is happening end of 2016 with the leaked Nokia C1
The Nokia brand, as rumoured, is returning to the mobile space to make Android-powered phones and tablets. The news was confirmed this morning in a press release from the company, which is now owned by HMD, a new company setup to enable the proliferation of Nokia-branded phones and tablets.
Here’s the official line from HMD on what’s happening:
“HMD has been founded to provide a focused, independent home for a full range of Nokia-branded feature phones, smartphones and tablets. To complete its portfolio of Nokia branding rights, HMD announced today that it has conditionally agreed to acquire from Microsoft the rights to use the Nokia brand on feature phones, and certain related design rights. The Microsoft transaction is expected to close in H2 2016. Together these agreements would make HMD the sole global licensee for all types of Nokia-branded mobile phones and tablets. HMD intends to invest over USD 500 million over the next three years to support the global marketing of Nokia-branded mobile phones and tablets, funded via its investors and profits from the acquired feature phone business.”
Microsoft’s Nokia “thing” will apparently end in the second half of 2016, leaving the market wide open for new Nokia handsets. The composition of the HMD is odd, to say the least. Nokia will not be investing any money in the project but it will receive royalties and sit on the board of HMD’s directors. Quite a few of Nokia’s old top brass will be returning to the fold as well.
“This agreement will give HMD full operational control of sales, marketing and distribution of Nokia-branded mobile phones and tablets, with exclusive access to the pre-eminent global sales and distribution network to be acquired from Microsoft by FIH, access to FIH’s world-leading device manufacturing, supply chain and engineering capabilities, and to its growing suite of proprietary mobile technologies and components,” said HMD in a press release.
What this means is simple: Nokia WILL return in 2016 with Android phones and tablets, as well as wearables off the back of its Withings acquisition. No doubt we’ll be hearing A LOT more about this and the future of Nokia in the coming weeks and months.
Can Nokia carve a niche for itself in the Android space? I personally think they can; the Nokia brand is strong and has a lot of history. A strong release could certainly do well. But I do concede, as the Telegraph notes below, that things won't exactly be EASY:
"Apple dominates the high-end, especially in the West, and Samsung is a fierce competitor. Asian smartphone manufacturers – Oppo, Xiaomi, Huawei, Vivo – are eating into the feature phone market that was Nokia’s playground. Other respected names, such as Sony and LG, have struggled to have a real impact on the market. Motorola and BlackBerry, two other once-mighty phone makers, have not been able to trade on the back of their legacies: there’s no immediate reason that Nokia should be any different."
It added: "The smartphone market, now bereft of innovation, has become ruthless, with profits difficult to come by. One suspects Nokia has missed its opportunity. We should wish it all the best, but the odds are stacked against it."
Will The First Nokia Android Phone Be The Nokia C1?
But as of April 4 it appears the C1 isn't the only Android device Nokia is working on; we now have details of an alleged mid-range device called the Nokia A1 (scrap that: the A1 was an HILARIOUS April Fool's joke). A render has leaked via Android Authority showing a somewhat similar design to the C1 (pictured further down this article). AA's "trusted insider" said this is a mid-range device and it appears to be running Nokia's Z Launcher over Android - a similar setup to the Nokia N1 Tablet. There's not much else to go on at the moment and we're left to simply ogle the new design and speculate on the specs.
Further details have leaked showcasing what we can expect from the Nokia C1. For starters,NokiaPowerUser received a render from a tipster, which is alleged to authentically show what the device will look like. It's not clear if this is a genuine Nokia render, or a render made by someone who has been briefed on (or seen) the device, and NPU encourages readers to take things with a pinch of salt. That said, it certainly looks the business, as we're used to seeing very polished designs from Nokia. It appears to have a very thin metal body and a coloured glass or polycarbonate back panel, however there is something a bit iPhone-like about the design that's sure to generate a few raised eyebrows.
According to the information handed to NPU, the Nokia C1 may come in two different size variants which will broadly share a spec sheet, but will have different camera tech, RAM, and onboard storage.
The display size is quoted at either 5.5in or 5in both with Full HD resolution. The 5in model will have 2GB of RAM with 32GB of storage space and an 8MP camera, while the larger 5.5in has 3GB RAM, a 13MP camera and 64GB onboard storage. Both will feature 5MP front-facing secondary cameras.
As for the software, it's going to be Android-based, although we'd expect it won't get away clean and will likely have Nokia UI stuff put on top. There's also going to be Windows 10 variants in select markets, allegedly.
For posterity, here's the quote from NPU's source:
- Display: 5 inches, Full HD / 5.5 inches Full HD
- Platform: Android and (Windows 10 in selected markets)
- Memory: 32 GB, 2 GB RAM or 64 GB, 3GB RAM
- Camera: 8 MP and 5 MP / 13 MP and 5 MP
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