There was a time when all anyone wanted was a stock Android phone built by the hardware wizards at Nokia. Unfortunately, we never got it because Nokia’s execs at the time felt like adopting Android would be a short-term solution akin to pissing in your pants for some temporary warmth in the winter. Instead we got the great Elopcalypse.
But in 2017 the dream will finally come true. Sort of.
A Nokia phone running Android is on the way but it won’t be designed in the city of Espoo, nor will it be built by the hard-working Finns in Salo. Instead the Nokia brand will be slapped onto on an Android phone built by FIH Mobile (a subsidiary of Foxconn) under contract with HMD Global Oy, a new company led by a former Nokia executive that recently obtained exclusive branding rights to sell, market and distribute Nokia phones and tablets for the coming 10 years.
Another Polaroid?
Of course, we’ve seen these kind of branding deals in the past resulting in a 4k TV from “Polaroid” and a smartphone built by “Commodore,” for example. The difference this time, however, is that Nokia is still very much alive and kicking primarily as a networking company, and use of its brand for mobile devices comes with strings attached. Here’s how the deal was announced in May (emphasis mine):