Nokia, once one of the dominant players in the mobile phone arena, closed the book on smartphones when it sold its Nokia Devices & Services business group to Microsoft in April 2014 for US$7.2 billion. But the company did not give up on mobile devices completely, announcing the Nokia N1, its first ever Android-powered tablet, only months later. And rumours that it will return to smartphones simply refuse to die down. A press event on July 28th may finally confirm those intentions.
Nokia Technologies retained the Nokia brand could return to the smartphone business. If so, it will need to wait until 2016 when Nokia’s restriction on using its brand on mobile device sales as part of the Microsoft acquisition will lift.
The invitation’s “Nowhere, now here” tag line may be a hint about that return. Then again, it could well be that the press event has nothing to do with mobile devices at all. It could well be some kind of Nokia HERE announcement for example.
Another possibility being suggested is that Nokia could announce a new Android tablet to succeed the Nokia N1.
We’ll find out on July 28th if Nokia is getting ready to jump back into the smartphone business or not. If it does, perhaps it will have a smartwatch (a successor to the cancelled Moonraker?) to accompany its new devices. It’s doubtful but one can always hope.
Source : Phone Arena