It is finally happening: Nokia will be making a big comeback into the mobile phone and tablet markets soon. Well, it is not the first time we’ve heard such a statement from the company, but this time Nokia has finally made it official by announcing two partners that have made the move possible: HMD Global and FIH Mobile.
Under the exclusive global deal, HMD – founded by former Nokia executives – has received the rights to develop Nokia-branded mobile phones and tablets for the next 10 years. At the same time, HMD has also acquired the rights for Nokia feature phones from Microsoft in order to complete a portfolio of Nokia-branded mobile products.
Microsoft has also sold off the rest of its feature phone business to FIH Mobile (itself a subsidiary of Foxconn), which includes a manufacturing facility in Vietnam, as well as global distribution, fulfillment, and supply chain networks. According to Microsoft, the company will receive USD 350 million (RM 1.4 billion) for the transaction which is expected to be completed in the second half of 2016.
Once that is done, HMD and FIH will then work together to deliver the upcoming Nokia-branded mobile products throughout the world. Specifically, HMD will be responsible for the sales, marketing, and distribution while leveraging on FIH’s engineering and manufacturing capabilities, as well as the global sales and distribution network that the Foxconn subsidiary will receive from Microsoft’s deal.
HMD is clearly confident that their Nokia-branded mobile products will be making a huge impact in the market by revealing that it has planned to invest more than USD 500 million (RM 2 billion) within the next three years in order to bring these devices to consumers. As for Nokia itself, the company will ultimately receive royalty payments from HMD based on the sales of these products.
Meanwhile, HMD has stated early on that the upcoming Nokia smartphones and tablets will be running on Android. If you have been dreaming to see a proper Android-based Nokia smartphone, the wait is about to be over soon.
(Source: Nokia, HMD Global, Microsoft)
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