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Nokia is Planning to Help Launch a Brand New Smartphone Line

Published Jun 18th, 2015 4:09PM EDT
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BGR readers have known this for quite a while thanks to chatter from our sources, but Nokia’s CEO finally confirmed it: Nokia is plotting a smartphone comeback. Chief executive Rajeev Suri confirmed to German magazine Manager Magazin that the company is still working out the details, but it has plenty of time to figure things out. Per the terms of its deal with Microsoft, Nokia can’t use its name on cell phones until late 2016.

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Nokia sold off its struggling smartphone business to Microsoft last year in a deal worth more than $7 billion. Considering Windows Phones are showing absolutely no signs of life, Microsoft likely got the short end of that stick even though Nokia’s phone business was once the biggest on the planet.

Now Nokia dabbles in a number of different areas including wireless infrastructure and Android apps. The company also makes and sells an Android tablet that we were the first site in the world to handle.

“We will look for suitable partners,” Suri said in a brief interview. “Microsoft makes mobile phones. We would simply design them and then make the brand name available to license.” Further details are scarce for the time being, but don’t expect them to run Windows…

Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 15 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.