For several weeks now, speculations have been trending over a possible comeback of the Nokia Corp (NYSE:NOK) smartphone, news that seems to have caught the world by surprise. However, it is no longer a rumor given the creation of a Foxconn and HMD Global startup by former Nokia executives, which will embrace the use of Nokia as the brand name. Earlier in the year, Nokia had highlighted that it would grant HMD Global, a Finnish company exclusive rights to use its name at least for the next decade.
This is what brings on board two particular phones, the Nokia 150 and Nokia 150 Dual Sim. However, the devices are not smartphones but they are designed to be more user-friendly and of course with an affordable price of $26 or €25. Initially, they will be available across the Middle East, India, Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Europe as early as next year before hitting other regions.
Appealing to those who cannot afford smartphones
The Nokia-branded mobile phones are simple models even in their features which include an MP3 player, Bluetooth, and Nokia’s SLAM sharing technology. They run on the old Nokia Series 30+ operating system, and they also feature a 2.4-inch QVGA display and a VGA camera with LED flash. The 22-hour battery life has a 25 day standby time. Both variants will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor.
However, they do not connect to the Internet nor do they run apps. But all said and done, they are likely to appeal as support devices or secondary phones, in particular among higher-end consumers.
Nokia was the largest phone seller on the planet
For more than a decade, Nokia was at the helm of leadership in regards to mobile phones sales. However, the surging competition from the likes of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KRX:005930), and BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) nearly buried them. In 2014, Microsoft bought the Nokia business, which was already shrinking and embraced the sale of Smartphones under the Lumia brand name.
While it is still unclear what to expect from Nokia, rumor has it that the company will be launching four devices. They are a low-end Smartphone codenamed ‘Pixel,’ two flagships with Snapdragon 820 as well as the Nokia D1C, which is a mid-range device. Meanwhile, Nokia’s stock was trading at $4.70 a fall of $0.04 or 0.84%.