Well, there goes that
Last week rumors of Nokia’s impending return to the smartphone market in 2016 made the internet buzz, with many fans (including us) anticipating a massive comback for the company who was once the world leader in phones. Well Nokia’s officially spoken about the matter, but not in a way that fans would like – the Finnish company has posivitely and undeniably squashed any and all rumors about their planned comeback into the smartphone world. Here’s the word from the company themselves:
Nokia notes recent news reports claiming the company communicated an intention to manufacture consumer handsets out of a R&D facility in China. These reports are false, and include comments incorrectly attributed to a Nokia Networks executive.
Nokia reiterates it currently has no plans to manufacture or sell consumer handsets.
The bright side is that Nokia did not say anything about designing or licensing phones at all. The company has gone that route with their N1 tablet, designing the tablet and licensing their name to Foxconn, who makes and markets the slate. While the company is still bound by their agreement with Microsoft that forbids them from selling Nokia-branded smartphones till the third quarter of 2016, we’re hoping that the company reconsiders their return to the consumer handset space.
