Nokia is alive and well it seems. And it’s ready to make its mark on 2017 by releasing a number of new phones – four, to be exact. A Finnish company called HMD Global has received the right and the license to release Nokia-branded smartphones for the next 10 years. And at MWC 2017, it’ll be releasing at least one of those new smartphones.
HMD Global is the Finnish firm that has exclusive rights to use the Nokia brand name on mobile devices
The Nokia D1C has been all over the internet for the past few weeks and we wouldn’t be surprised if that was the first phone to be launched by Nokia. February sometime is when they’re expecting to announce it. But HMD is also in a tie up with supply chains in Taiwan to develop an additional four smartphones for Nokia. These are expected to be launched within the second and third quarters of 2017 respectively. According to leading industry insights, the phones which will be released could sport screen sizes ranging from 5 to 5.7-inches with QHD resolutions FHD resolutions. So we should expect some capable mid-range and high-end smartphones with flagship specs coming to stores next year.
In fact, HMD has already placed orders for display modules from companies like LG Display, Century Technology and Innolux. Foxconn will be one of the more prominent partners in this venture for production. The upcoming D1C will be the first to launch next year and will come in two variants, each with their own amount of memory and display size. The more spec’d out version will cost $200 and will pack a 5.5-inch FHD display with 3GB of RAM – pretty decent specs so far for a good price. $50 lesser, and users will get a 5-inch HD panel, with 2GB of RAM.
The phones will be released globally, however whether they will all be priced the same or not everywhere is yet to be seen. And as far as processing power and other device specifications go, we’re not sure what to expect just yet. But the budget segment is where Nokia wants to fit itself right now and it’s a smart move if they want to penetrate the Asian market where the most number of mid-spec’d phones are being used in the world. Also, Nokia can reclaim its place for being one of the most trusted phones by users, as evidenced from Nokia’s illustrious glory days.
Let’s hope 2017 is a good year or Nokia!