The history of Nokia is one of the most incredible business sagas of the 90s of the last century. As BusinessWeek wrote, in the early 90s, the Finnish conglomerate was worried about problems that were very far from cellular communications: then sales began to decline sharply in the Soviet Union, which was on the verge of collapse ... of toilet paper. And by the end of the millennium, the same Finns, having reoriented to the production of cell phones, surpassed Ericsson and Motorola in a new market for themselves. Nokia quickly became one of the leading players in the global telecommunications market, as well as one of the richest European companies. But all in order ...

Came out of the woods

The history of Nokia is usually counted from 1865. On May 12, 1865, the Finnish mining engineer Fredrik Idestam received a permit to build a wood pulp mill near the Nokia River. This was the beginning of the future Nokia Corporation. It was during these years that the rapid growth of industry took place. Industrialization, the need for paper and cardboard for growing cities and offices grew every day. And now, on the site of the mill-mill, a pulp and paper mill has grown. Over time, the Nokia plant attracted a large number of workers, so that soon the city of the same name was formed around it - Nokia

The enterprise grew from a national scale, Nokia paper began to be supplied first to Russia, then to England, France, and even China.

In the late 1860s, the demand for paper products in Finland exceeded the volume of domestic production many times, due to which the import of raw materials from Russia and Sweden increased. Nokia Corporation (Nokia Aktiebolag) was founded in February 1871. The firm has confidently conquered the markets of Denmark, Germany, Russia, England, Poland and France. By the way, business people from St. Petersburg played an important role in Nokia's entry into the international arena.

Coalition of three

Meanwhile, in the United States, the rubber fever of the early 1830s ended as unexpectedly as it began. Many investors have lost millions of dollars. But the bankrupt Philadelphia-based equipment manufacturer Charles Goodyear continued to experiment with rubber. In February 1839, he discovered the phenomenon of vulcanization. At the same time, he created a waterproof rubber that allowed this material to be used in a wide variety of conditions. In 1898, Frank Seiberling founded the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and bought the first plant for it. Ten years later, Goodyear became the world's largest rubber company.

In Finland, rubber goods appeared at the end of the 19th century. The first products were shoes and various items made of rubberized fabric. At first they were a luxury, but very quickly, raincoats and galoshes became popular in cities and countryside. Rubber products have become an accessory not only to the consumer, but also to the business market. In connection with industrialization, there was a demand for various equipment, which meant the need for all kinds of rubber products. In Finland, the main manufacturer of such products was Finnish Rubber Works (FRW). When FRW decided to move its production from Helsinki to the countryside, it settled on a site near Nokia. The ability to buy electricity from Nokia at a low price became crucial - the river, near which the plant was located, served not only as a decoration of the landscape, but also was a source of cheap electricity.

In 1912, a company that was later named Finnish Cable Works was opened in the center of Helsinki. The growing demand for electricity transmission, as well as the rapid development of telegraph and telephone networks, ensured the rapid growth of the company. Looking ahead, it should be noted that after the end of the Second World War, the company was practically a monopoly that owned the absolute majority of Finnish cable manufacturers.

In 1920, the three firms, Nokia Corporation, Finnish Rubber Works and Finnish Cable Works, entered into a coalition to form the Nokia Group. Membership in this industrial conglomerate involved Nokia's opposition to social, political, and economic events: both the Roaring Twenties and the Great depression, and the invasion of the Soviet Union, and subsequent wars, and the payment of reparations to Moscow.

Although Nokia lost its corporate autonomy, its name soon became a common foundation for the three firms, and during these years FRW began to use the name “Nokia” as its brand. True, soon the third of the companies, Finnish Cable Works (FCW), lured Nokia into a new sector for it - the construction of power plants. In the 1920s and 1930s, Nokia was already leading in all areas of its business. It was diversification that helped the company survive almost painlessly difficult times in economic terms: when some sector of the economy was in decline, Nokia survived at the expense of enterprises in other industries.

Nokia began operations in the Soviet Union in the 60s. In 1966, the merger of three enterprises - Nokia, FRW and FRC began and in 1967 was finalized. Oy Nokia Ab was an industrial conglomerate operating in four main areas: forestry, rubber, cables and electronics. The old businesses, especially the cable business, continued to drive Nokia's profitability. Some Finnish observers believe the control system was taken from a cable factory; and the money came from the rubber industry. And the electronics division helped revive Nokia's competitiveness in the company's next phase.

Nokia and mobile communications

Back in the 60s, Finnish Cable Works President Björn Westerlund establishes an electronics department that conducts research in the field of semiconductors. The core staff of the department are university and college staff, with whom Westerlund has long enjoyed good relations. The head of the department, Kurt Wickstedt, who called himself "obsessed with numbers", was well aware of all the prospects for the development of electronic communications and skillfully directed the efforts of developers in these priority areas. The moods that were in the air at that time could be characterized by the words “everything is possible and everything should be tried”.

nokia, 1960

In 1963, the first radiotelephone was developed, and in 1965, a data modem. Nevertheless, most telephone exchanges at that time had electromechanical switching devices and no one even thought about the possible “digitalization” of their equipment. Despite the similar conservatism that prevailed in this area at that time, Nokia still took on the development of a digital switch based on pulse code modulation (PCM). In 1969, it was the first to produce PCM transmitting equipment conforming to CCITT (International Consultative Committee on Telegraph and Telephone) standards. The transition to a digital telecommunications standard became one of the most important strategic decisions for the company, which was confirmed in the early 70s by the release of the DX 200 switch. Equipped at that time with a high-level computer language and Intel microprocessors, it turned out to be so successful that to this day the ideas embedded in it are the basis for the company's telecommunications infrastructure.

At the same time, new legislation allowed, following the example of Sweden, to install mobile phones in cars and connect them to the public network. As Nokia's main strategy in the 1980s was to expand rapidly across the board, the new prospects pushed Nokia to take decisive action. And the result was not long in coming: in 1981, a cellular network was created that covered Sweden and Finland and was named Nordic Mobile Telephony (NMT). Later, it included other countries both in Europe and beyond. The system was based on Nokia technologies. The mobile phone industry began to develop rapidly. Introduced in 1981, NMT became the first widespread cellular standard

In 1987, when all manufactured mobile phones were quite heavy and had large dimensions, Nokia released one of the lightest and most portable mobile phones. This allowed us to win back a significant part of the market.

In connection with the gradual unification of European markets at the end of the 80s, it became necessary to develop a unified digital standard for mobile communications, later called GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications).

In 1989 Nokia and two Finnish telecom operators formed an alliance to establish the first GSM network. In order not to lose ground in the competition with Telecom Finland, which had a long-term, state-backed long-distance telephony monopoly, analog mobile service providers Helsinki Telephone Corporation and Tampere Telephone Company formed Radiolinja. The firm bought $ 50 million worth of infrastructure from Nokia, even though it did not have a license for the new network.

Jorma Ollila, invited to Nokia Kari Kairamo, in 1990 became the head of the company's mobile phone division. There was a lot of talk about the new project, everything arose from doubts: from the fundamental need for a network to exist to technological issues. Still, the Nokia team believed in digital communications and continued to work.

On July 1, 1991, the very first call via the commercial GSM network was made by the Prime Minister of Finland - on a Nokia phone. The success of the project impressed the company's board of directors, and a year later Ollila was named CEO of Nokia. Jorma Ollila still holds this position and the post of chairman.

Since 1996, telecommunications have become Nokia's core business. The Finns were not in vain. After all, when Nokia invested its resources in GSM, it was a moderately successful company from a small country, challenging an already solid infrastructure, in which billions of dollars were invested, and a widely accepted standard. Soon the company concludes agreements to provide GSM networks to 9 more European countries. By August 1997, Nokia had delivered GSM systems to 59 operators in 31 countries.

Number of mobile and landline telephones in Finland 1990-1998

It must be said that by this time Finland was experiencing the deepest decline in production. And despite the fact that in the 80s Nokia becomes the third TV manufacturer in Europe, as well as the company's satellite receivers and the tire manufacturing division, gaining popularity, especially given the consistently high quality of the entire range of products offered, Nokia had to take a risky choice. In May 1992, the head of the company, Jorma Ollila, decides to reduce all other departments and concentrate scientific and production capacities on telecommunications. Today, when Nokia is the world leader in mobile communications and telecommunications, we can appreciate the correctness of this decision.

Success secrets

It was when the company got serious about making mobile phones and other telecommunications products that it entered international markets. As a result, in the late 90s Nokia became the market leader in digital communications technologies.

In a short time, thanks to its ability to be sensitive to frequent market changes and instantly adopt the latest developments and technologies, the company has achieved global success. It is through a competent and thoughtful approach, as well as the right decisions - both in technology, and in the field of management and personnel policy - Nokia has become a world-class mega-company. In just 6 years, this company has made a leap to world fame.

Jorma Ollila took over as head of Nokia just at a time when she needed a breath of fresh air. And the company soon began to skyrocket. By 1997, Nokia was a manufacturer of mobile phones for almost all major digital standards: GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900, TDMA, CDMA and Japan Digital. Thanks to such vast opportunities, the company was able to quickly strengthen its position in Europe and Asia.

Already in 1998, it announced a 70% increase in profit (210 billion euros), while its main competitors Ericsson and Motorola limited themselves to reports of a decrease in production rates. The demand for mobile phones continued to grow, and so did Nokia's market share. In 1999, the company won 27% of the mobile phone market, with Motorola, which was second, lagging behind it by as much as 10%. Today Nokia is still the leader in the mobile phone market. What explains this rise? Let's try to understand the reasons for this success.

History. It was distinguished from ordinary Finnish companies not only by the desire for growth and innovation, but also by the effective expansion of the scope of activities. In addition, Nokia distinguished itself by being the only one in its country to pursue a consistent policy of creating a complete self-sufficiency chain: from production and development of new products to marketing, brand promotion, sales organization and provision of related services.

Name. First of all, Nokia's management decided that it needed its own brand for successful market promotion - the company managed to foresee that cell phones would soon become a consumer product (before that Nokia products were sold under the brands of mobile operators). She managed to solve the task in full - today in the list of the most popular brands the Nokia brand is in eleventh place, between Marlboro (10th place) and Mercedes (12th).

Slogan and logo adopted in 1993

Innovation... One of the company's strategic goals has always been continuous renewal, which manifested itself in skillful and constant segmentation, branding and design. Like Procter & Gamble, Nokia has periodically released new products in various categories to continuously dominate the market. Like Coca-Cola, Nokia gradually became a ubiquitous brand, only it did it much faster.

Technologies... Nokia pays a lot of attention and invests heavily in technology development. The main breakthrough, in the opinion of a number of experts, was an advanced and convenient menu system. It was she, as many believe, that gave impetus to the expansion of the functionality of the phone and the gradual transformation of it not just into a communication device, but rather into an information device.

When many high-tech corporations in the USA and Canada focused exclusively on computer information technologies, European and Japanese companies were seriously involved in mobile telecommunications and wireless technologies. And Nokia was at the forefront of these "converters of the world." People want to communicate “whenever, wherever,” and Nokia is meeting that demand. Even Americans admitted that thanks to Nokia, the future of wireless communication belongs to Europe. Indicators such as the share of mobile phone owners among the population and the coverage of the territory with cellular communications are much higher in Europe than in the USA. And that's not all: the line between technologies is now blurring - they are merging into a single whole, and mobile telecommunication devices are reigning in the very center of the wireless information society of the new century.

Design. First-class design is considered to be the hallmark of Nokia phones.

Nokia's chief designer, Frank Nuovo, believes that it is not new features and an intricate device that can bring greater success to mobile phones, but ease of use and a beautiful appearance. In his opinion, in the minds of people, a mobile phone is something like a watch or sunglasses. They are influenced not by the development of technology, but by fashion. The modern mobile phones of this brand are a milestone for the competitors of the company. Nokia pays great attention to phone design. The company began experimenting with phone color ten years ago, when the first color phones came out in Europe and the United States. One of the first was the Nokia 252 Art Edition. This is largely due to Ollil and his team, who gave Finnish phones the quality that experts in consumer psychology call the paramount in the image of Nokia mobile phones - the ability to personalize each of them and thereby stand out from the consumer crowd.

Frank Nuovo's team employs about 100 designers. The iconic 8000 series is an example of first-class design. In this regard, Nokia's cooperation with the Kenzo fashion house is very indicative.

Many believe that the Nokia 8210 is a collaboration between Nokia and Kenzo fashion house. In fact, this is not entirely true: the Nokia / Kenzo agreement was focused only on promotional activities - for example, the 8210 was first shown at a Kenzo fashion show. Nokia Press Release: “ In our business, Nokia 8210 opens up a whole new class of products, especially when it comes to a new trend in fashion. It is not intended to crowd out existing categories, rather it occupies a niche somewhere between a prestigious fashion accessory and a regular phone.

The presentation of the new phone model at the Kenzo fashion show was a new step for us in introducing a new fashion-oriented product category. Kenzo is the ideal partner with a prestigious brand to enter the fashion world.

The mobile telephony industry has already taken the lead in the global consumer electronics industry, and therefore market segmentation is becoming more pronounced. Today, almost everyone is a potential mobile phone user. Different users have different needs, different lifestyles and personal preferences. For this reason, production and marketing concepts are becoming more and more focused on the customer's lifestyle and fashion perception. It can be argued that the mobile phone is becoming an increasingly effective means of expressing individual style and taste. Kenzo, like Nokia, is a style leader.

Kenzo, like Nokia, is a globally recognized brand with global distribution and market coverage. Nokia and Kenzo have similar views on joint activities: the desire for freedom, expressed individuality, youth style. We share the same style in terms of color, material and graphic design.“.

Corporate culture... I must say that the formation of the well-known corporate culture of Nokia took place even before the arrival of Jorma Ollila, the current leader, to the leadership. Many myths have been created about his predecessor, Kari Kairamo. This energetic man has served as the CEO (CEO) of Nokia since 1977. By the way, his predecessor, Björn Westerlund, who was in charge of cable production, practically endangered the well-being of Nokia, advocating a reduction in relations with the Soviet Union. Kari Kairamo immediately after his arrival built an important market balance for Nokia: now 50% of production was sent to the USSR, and another 50% to the West. This helped Nokia avoid a catastrophe during a period of major changes in our country in the early 90s. But in 1988, Kari committed suicide and left the company in a very dire state. Kairamo was a charismatic leader, sometimes his behavior was violent, abusive and scandalous. Today's generation of Nokia executives very often gets "advances" precisely because of the company's image and merits gained under Kairamo. He also laid down the basic principles of Nokia's corporate culture: teamwork, global scale of activities and continuous professional development.

Jorma Ollila.

His successor, Jorma Ollila, was no less significant. It was he who, in 1991, "brought" Nokia to a new digital standard for mobile communications - GSM. And a year later, when he became the CEO of the entire company, he promised to make Nokia the largest company focused on the mobile sector of the market. Now no one will argue that Nokia is a business miracle. The basis of all, probably, was a somewhat unconventional scheme of Nokia's work, involving a combination of freedom of action for its individual structures and strict financial discipline. In other words, the company has certain corporate standards, but outside of them, the departments are free to act at their own discretion. However, if some of them have not reached certain financial indicators, and there are no prerequisites for the situation to change in the future, work in this area is curtailed.

Perhaps Ollila's success in the international financial sector played a role, allowing him to list Nokia shares on the New York Stock Exchange. The much talked about initial investment in Nokia was in fact the result of its stock appreciation. In five years, Nokia shares have risen by 2300%, and this was the result of strict financial discipline. “If the revenue from the main business product of the company does not grow at 25% per year,” Jorma says, “then there is no need to expect growth in the future - you need to change the product and the entire production strategy.”

Despite the openness of information about the company, Jorma Ollila himself remains a mystery to most researchers. He does not seek to flaunt his life. He talks only about technology, management and the prospects of his company. He loves to play tennis, but his playing style resembles fitness training rather than gambling. Even on the court, he is not inclined to any kind of communication "outside the game". Ollila is not only stingy with words - he is also frugal with his employees.

The Nokia executive does not litter people: he is not inclined to fire employees, even when they make serious mistakes. That's why 60,000 employees are loyal to their boss. “We know the mobile telecommunications industry better than anyone else,” they say. What is this, self-confidence? Maybe. But Nokia is the leader, and all of us can only agree with this statement. Jorma believes that his policy towards the company's employees is justified: “People who have walked together through adversity and defeat to victory must continue to work together.” According to the latest reports, Jorma Ollila will remain in office until at least 2006.

Present day

GSM technology gave impetus to the emergence of a new type of service - packet transmission of large amounts of data over wireless networks. In 1998 Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola and Psion (a British manufacturer of handheld PCs) formed the Symbian Alliance, a consortium to develop third-generation wireless technologies. Symbian's strategic goal is to expand the capabilities of data transmission in mobile networks and integrate these networks with the Internet. The main goal, as Ollila says “to put the Internet into every pocket,” is to provide the Internet to every user of a mobile device.

Nokia in Helsinki, Finland

More than 50,000 skilled professionals create modern Nokia mobile phones at 18 companies in ten countries around the world.

The peculiarity of Nokia is that while developing the next model, it focuses on a certain consumer, providing him with maximum ease of use. Today, the market presents models for people actively involved in sports, leading a business or secular lifestyle in the categories: Basic (2xxx), Expression (3xxx), Active (5xxx), Classic (6xxx), Fashion (7xxx) and Premium (8xxx). They differ in their respective design and feature set.

Nokia has been in Russia since the spring of 1997, when a Russian local company, ZAO NOKIA, was established with its head office in Moscow and a branch in St. Petersburg. The main divisions of Nokia are “profile” structures: Nokia Telecommunications and Nokia Mobile Phones. In the fall of 1999, Nokia Telecommunications was renamed Nokia Networks.

Currently, two divisions are active in the Russian market: Nokia Mobile Phones, which promotes Nokia mobile phone models on the Russian market and supports dealers in Russia and the CIS, and Nokia Networks, which provides telecom operators with integrated solutions in the field of mobile and fixed communication networks , personal radio communications and advanced IP technologies.

By 2003 Nokia had opened three branded communication shops in Moscow, three in St. Petersburg and one in Chelyabinsk.

The Russian branch of the company employs more than fifty people, including specialists in telecommunications technology and marketing research, engineers and adjusters.

Nokia has been actively working in the Belarusian market since the launch of the first cellular network, i.e. for about 10 years.

Milestones in Nokia's history

1865: Nokia's beginnings in the woodworking industry - Fredrik Idestam's factory on the Nokia River, southern Finland.

1917: Nokia is part of a coalition of three companies and is expanding its business to rubber products and electrical cables.

1967: Nokia teams up with The Finnish Rubber Works and The Finnish Cable Works. Formation of Nokia Corporation.

1973: Nokia's most popular rubber boot, Kontio, is launched in a variety of colors and for all ages.

1975: MikriMikki 3 computer announced.

1977: Kari H. Kairamo becomes CEO of Nokia Corporation, marking Nokia's transformation into an electronics giant.

1979: The birth of Nokia mobile phones.

1981: The birth of Nokia Telecommunications.

1984: Nokia introduces the world's first car NMT telephone and begins export deliveries to the Soviet Union.

1986: Nokia introduces NMT cell phone. The Board of Directors has split Nokia Electronics into Nokia Information Systems, Mobile Phones and Nokia Telecommunications.

1987: Nokia presents the world's first NMT phone that fits in your pocket :). Operators of 13 European countries sign an agreement on joint construction and promotion of a GSM network.

1991: The first commercial call of GSM standard was made in Finland using Nokia equipment.

1992: Jorma Ollila became General Manager

1992: Nokia introduces the first handheld GSM Nokia 101 handset.

1993: Nokia adopts the motto “Connecting people”, which reflects Nokia's contribution to the development of wireless technologies.

1994: Nokia becomes the first European manufacturer to ship mobile phones to Japan. The 2100 series was launched. About 20 million of these phones have been sold worldwide.

1995: Nokia introduces the smallest base station for mobile GSM / DCS networks, Nokia PrimeSite.

1996: Nokia unveils the world's first communicator Nokia 9000.

1997: Nokia is shifting its strategic focus to connecting mobile technology and the Internet

1999: Nokia launches the first model with WAP support - Nokia 7110.

2000: Jorma Ollila has been named Leader of the Year by Industry Week. Launched Nokia 9210, the first phone model with a color screen. Nokia has split into Nokia Mobile Phones and Nokia Networks.

2001: Nokia continues to strategically evolve with a new goal of “Internet in everyone's pocket” and maintain its leading position in the 21st century.

2002 : The 7650 is Nokia's first Series 60 phone with an integrated camera. The first call was made on a third generation commercial network based on WCDMA. Nokia 6650 announced.

Have you noticed that last year we thought about Nokia smartphones more than once? And not in a retrospective format, but in connection with the release of new cool smartphones. This is because the brand got a second wind.

Personally, I am glad to see the Finnish legend again, because it touched many of us. But what do you remember about Nokia? Ringtone yes "3310th"? This will not work, it's time to refresh your memory.

There have been many facts in the history of Nokia that many do not know or have forgotten. Therefore, I have prepared a list below. It's time to remember 20 legendary factsrelated to the development of the Finnish brand.

1. The company was founded in the 19th century

The history begins in 1865, when the mining engineer Frederic Idestam founded a small paper mill. In 1871 it was renamed Nokia Ab.

This is the Nokia logo! No kidding.

2. Nokia used to make both slippers and toilet paper

In 1967, three companies merged: Finnish Rubber Works, Finnish Cable Works merged into Nokia Ab. Moreover, Nokia was the smallest, but it was beneficial under the then legislation. The combined company had five main areas: rubber products, cables, electronics, wood processing and power generation.

3. They made personal computers

In the 1980s, Nokia Data's computing division was manufacturing MikroMikko PCs. It was a step towards the business PC market. The first MikroMikko 1 model was released on September 29, 1981, that is, around the time of the IBM PC.

One of the models of the MikroMikko series computers.

4. The first phones of the company were produced under the brand name Mobira

In 1987, the company introduced the Mobira Cityman 900 phone, which could already be carried in the hand (weight was 760 grams). It was from this phone that Mikhail Gorbachev called the Minister of Communications in Moscow while in Finland. After this picture, many called the phone "Gorba".

Check out the size of the Mobira phone.

5. The conversation timer is not like everyone else

The talk timer on most Nokia phones was activated when making a call, not when starting a conversation. Although smartphones with the S60 platform read off the time as standard - when the interlocutor picked up the handset.

6. Nokian tires are in the past of Nokia

In 1988, Nokian Renkaat was separated from the company, which since 1967 has been its "rubber" division. Since then, Nokian Renkaat has nothing to do with Nokia.

7. Nokia were co-investors with MGTS

In 1989, a joint venture with MGTS, AMT, was created to deal with mobile communications, paging and automatic telephone exchange services in Moscow. Subsequently, Nokia's share was sold to MGTS.

8. The first paid call by GSM phone was made from Helsinki

In 1991, the first paid call was made on a GSM cell phone. By the way, the network itself was built on equipment produced by Nokia. Finnish Prime Minister Harri Holkeri called from Helsinki.

The same call.

9. The famous slogan did not appear immediately

10. Nokia phones were so popular that they could not be shipped in time

The frenzied global popularity of the Finnish brand in the world led to a major logistics crisis in the mid-1990s. The devices simply did not have time to ship, the delivery times were moving - all this damaged the company's reputation. The timely replacement of the entire logistics infrastructure saved from failure.

11. Nokia ringtones made musicians popular

Standard ringtones included "The Village", "Stones" and "Close My Eyes". These are songs by the American indie rock band Plain Jane Automobile, which became popular thanks to Nokia.

12. The melody in the famous ringtone was written in 1902

The recognizable ringtone is based on the old melody of the guitar work Gran Vals, written in 1902 by the Spanish musician Francisco Tarrega.

It appeared in 1994 in the Nokia 2100 series of phones, but got its name, "Nokia tune", only in 1998, when it became associated with the phones of the Finnish brand.

13. SMS sound was chosen for a reason

The standard sound of Nokia devices (SMS message sound), which usually seems to the user as an unremarkable sound signal, is in fact a full-meaning message. Only transmitted using Morse code. Thus, the signal is nothing more than an abbreviation for Short Message Service, recorded using the above cipher.

14. The Ascending melody is a cipher

The message is also encrypted in the "Ascending" melody. This is the same slogan of the company: "Connecting people".

15. Nokia has long been the largest phone maker

By 1998, thanks to a focus on telecommunications and early investments in GSM, Nokia had become the largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world. The trend continued until 2007.

Forbes November 2007 calls Nokia the king of cell phones

16. Apple copied technology from Nokia

In 2009, Nokia won a lawsuit with Apple for infringement of 10 patents, the developments of which were used in the first generation iPhone. As a result, Apple paid compensation to Nokia, and, judging by the recent patent agreement, is still making large royalties.

17. Nokia 3310 - the legend

Nokia 3310 has become one of the most successful models in the history of Nokia. Over the past 17 years, more than 126 million copies have been sold.

18. Nokia devices have not been made at home for a long time

All production facilities in the mobile sector are concentrated exclusively in Asia. The last mobile phone rolled off the Finnish assembly line in 2012. All AA brands now manufacture their products using Asian labor.

19.Microsoft bought Nokia for a song

On September 3, 2013, Microsoft announced the purchase of Nokia's mobile phone division and all related patents. The purchase price was extremely low for a corporation of this level - Nokia's business was valued at $ 5 billion, and patents cost another $ 2.18 billion.

20. The company has released tablets several times

The last attempt was in 2014, despite the sale of the mobile unit. Then the company introduced the Nokia N1 tablet.

Tablet Nokia N1.

What about Nokia now?

After moving under the wing of Microsoft, the company left the mainstream radar. But, as it turned out, only for a while.

Let's talk about the history of Nokia. Origins, dawn, great inventions, dominance and imminent collapse. And after that, it was reborn in a completely new look.

History is cyclical, everything repeats itself. Ghostbusters, Pirates of the Caribbean are again shown in cinemas, Jumanji will soon be shown, Spider-Man also pleases the kids, and the kids are waiting for new episodes of Duck Tales. Pepsi Cherry, Wagon wheels and Love is flaunt on store shelves. And in the hands of passers-by, the legendary in a new guise begins to flicker every now and then.

But progress does not stand still, and all this, of course, corresponds to modern fashion: Pepsi is without calories, Hunters have been replaced by hunters, and Nokia has finally acquired an up-to-date operating system.

The legendary Nokia brand is finally returning to the market, launching 4 phones almost simultaneously. But how it all began, you will find out about this today.

Significant milestones in Nokia history and a bit of patriotism

Back in 1865, subjects of the Russian Empire Frederic Idestam and Leopold Mechelin in the Grand Duchy of Finland, which at that time was part of the Russian Empire, a small paper mill was organized. Since the founders of the company were not just top managers, Idestam was an engineer-inventor, and Mechelin was a brilliant entrepreneur. The business of the company quickly went uphill due to the introduction of advanced technologies. A whole settlement was built around the enterprise and in 1871 the company acquired the familiar name Nokia ab.

In 1896, the company makes its first (but far from the last) bold step and decides to produce electricity.

in 1922, the company takes the next bold step and, through cooperation and mergers, began the production of rubber products and cables. Subsequently, automobile and bicycle tires, shoes and even gas masks for the Finnish army appeared in the production of the company.

By 1967, the company already had in its arsenal as many as 5 main areas: the production of rubber products, cables and electronics, wood processing and power generation.

Nokia Global Contribution

In the late 60s, Nokia relies on electronics, semiconductors, etc. and already in 1969 makes a revolution. Invents 30-channel PCM equipment and manufactures the world's first digital telephone exchange. Equipment capable of converting analog audio to digital.

The PCM standard appeared, which is still used by all analog equipment for digitizing. This is how the once small Finnish company Nokia makes a global contribution to the heritage of all mankind.

In the 70s, Nokia was the first to enter the digital age. The company invents the switch Nokia DX 200 for automatic telephone exchanges, thanks to which the company successfully enters the telecommunications market (in which it is a leader to this day).

In the early 80s, the company decided to conquer the world electronics markets. And by 87, Nokia became the third largest TV manufacturer in Europe.

But luck cannot smile at someone forever. Therefore, in the late 80s, due to the recession in the world economy, Nokia fell into a crisis and decided on a serious restructuring. The firm had to abandon most of its activities and rely on telecommunications technology.

It was then that Nokia spun off its tire division. This is how the well-known company Nokian appeared, which to this day pleases motorists with reliable and safe tires.

GSM rudiments

Nokia has been developing commercial and military technologies for mobile communications since the 60s. Its technologies were already used by the military (they always get the coolest things first).

Since 1966, Nokia has partnered with Salora to develop ARP, one of the first cellular standards for Autoradiopuhelin car radio telephones. As early as 1978, the network covers the entire territory of Finland.

In 1979, Nokia merges with Salora to form the Mobira Oy joint venture to develop NMT mobile phones, the first fully automated first-generation cellular network.

The lucky ones from 1981 were honored to buy the company's first cell phone, the Mobira Senator. It weighed as much as 5 kg, but it was worth it, especially since it was intended mainly for use in a car.

Mobira senator

in 1984 Nokia understands where the future is heading and fully acquires Salora. And in 1987 he released the more mobile and familiar to us phone Mobira Cityman 900. Its weight was only 760 grams, which provided 50 minutes of talk time from one charge and was charged for only 4 hours.

Its cost was almost 5,000 dollars (To the envy of Apple's management), which did not prevent him from being wildly popular, he became an element of prestige and a sign of success.

But the name did not catch on, the phone was called “Gorba” after the famous photograph of the first and last president of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev.

It is thanks to this picture that cell phones have become popular all over the world. At least for something I can say thank you to Gorbachev.

From this moment in more detail

In 1990, the international standard for cellular communications GSM was adopted, and a year later, on July 1, 1991, Nokia presented its first prototype of a GSM phone. From which the Prime Minister of Finland Harri Holkeri made the world's first call via the GSM network, by the way also made by Nokia.

From that moment on, Nokia became world famous among the common people. On November 10, 1992, the company released a GSM phone Nokia 1011. The date of the start of production is encoded in the name of the phone (I think it is worth marking this day in calendars in red), it could already send and receive SMS.

Thus began the most successful and glorious period of the campaign. In the same 1992, the campaign slogan became the famous words “ Connection people”, Which in our time become relevant again

In 1994, the famous "Nokia tunes" appeared in Nokia phones. However, it is fair to mention that this melody was not invented by the Finns, but by the Spanish composer Francisco Torrega in the distant 1902 and is called the work Gran vals. Although not everyone can recognize the famous melody in this composition.

Finnish affairs went like clockwork. The Nokia 2100 has spread like hotcakes around the world with a circulation of 20 million.

1996 was marked by the first progenitor of the Nokia 9000 Communicator smartphone, equipped with 2 MB of memory and a huge monochrome display for those times, a QWERTY keyboard and even the GEOS operating system.

Nokia 9000 Communicator

In 1998 Nokia becomes the largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world. If in 1996 the company's turnover was $ 6 billion, then by 2002 its turnover was already $ 31 billion. Colossal growth in just six years.

Nokia is a popular brand

Nokia has never forgotten about the budget segment. Telephones for developing countries and poor students have always been very popular.

By the beginning of the 21st century, Nokia had released several iconic models, despite the fact that the Nokia 3310, the owner of not only the iconic Snake, but also replaceable covers.

Nokia 3310 is one of the most famous models, which sold 130 million units, and its predecessor 3210 sold out in an even larger circulation of 160 million units.

But this is not a record either. A record 250 million people have become the happy owners of the Nokia 1100. It is not only the world's best-selling phone, but also the best-selling electronic device.

Nokia 1100

Our childhood dream

But Finnish engineers were not so interested in state employees, so they came up with N series phones, in which they embodied their most daring ideas. They were no longer called the boring word "phone", they bore the proud name "smartphone".

Nokia smartphones were pioneers in the high-tech world and enjoyed immense popularity despite their considerable price tag. They used stainless steel, fanciful body types, Carl Zeiss optics, xenon flashes, and the first serious Symbian operating system.

The Nokia N91 with a HARD DISK is worth a separate mention. Phone with 8 GB hard drive. But if you think that this is the only innovation, then you are wrong. This model also had excellent sound from Harman / Kardon, working in conjunction with a Toshiba chipset and a powerful amplifier.

Nokia N91

Thanks to such a filling, Nokia N91 is still able to wipe its nose on the quality of the music played by most modern gadgets, and maybe even all.

Premium segment

Nokia was respected by all strata of society and, of course, they have not forgotten about the most solvent strata of society. For the rich, a separate series of phones was released, such as the Nokia 8800. It did not have advanced hardware, but their customers did not need it, the main thing here is the image.

There were several modifications, differing mainly in materials, the case of some modifications was titanium with genuine leather inserts, the navigation button could be made of artificial sapphire. The display was protected by tempered glass and the most important element that any modification possessed was a door closer on a sliding keyboard cover, only the click sound of which is more prestigious than the latest iPhone.

Nokia 8800 Sapphire Arte Black

Rich daughter

Drinking Dom Pérignon and chewing hazel grouses while discussing the purchase of a new yacht is much more pleasant when a gold Vertu is at hand. The brainchild of the same Nokia.

The design of luxury phones was developed on the basis of the letter "V", so that people associate with the word Victory, so that they do not forget that their life is good.

Nokia got rid of Vertu in 2012, as it was difficult to call it a winner then.

In 2013, Vertu launches its first android phone.

In 2014, the company announces a partnership with Bentley.

Surprisingly, while finishing this article, I found out that Vertu had announced itself.

Vertu Signature Dragon Commemorative Edition

A new era or winter is coming

Here and there, phones with a touch screen, unusual for an ordinary user, began to appear. Many refused to recognize them and considered them a perversion, but time does not stand still.

And suddenly, at that time a little-known fruit company in Russia and the CIS countries, led by Steve Jobs for some reason, releases the iPhone in 2007, which made a splash in foreign markets.

Engineers from all manufacturers are starting to work hard, staying over the weekend in order to compete with Apple.

Nokia did not stand aside and released a new flagship Nokia 5800. The phone surpassed the fruit device in almost all respects, had a front camera, the best main camera, excellent stereo speakers and, most importantly, 3G support.

the iPhone could not boast of all this, while it cost almost 2 times more, but the bet on a resistive display for Nokia was wrong.

In 2008, a new promising Android operating system is released. One by one, manufacturers are starting to migrate to the new OS.

However, Nokia, as always, bends its line, relies on Symbian and it had prospects. At the end of 2009 Nokia's market share was estimated at 39% and this is Nokia's last successful year in the mobile market.

The exiled Cossack girl and the rapid sunset

In 2010, Steven Elop, a Microsoft employee, was named CEO to serve the Finnish campaign. The role of which in the development of the Finnish company can only be compared with Gorbachev in the USSR.

For the first few months, Stephen sat and thought about his super overhaul program, which allowed the company to release the Nokia N8, a flagship that met and surpassed the standards of the time. Besides, its durability could be envied by the famous 3310. Nokia 8 is metal and durable, falling on the asphalt did not affect the integrity of the display in any way.

At the same time, Nokia, together with Intel and such giants as Renault, Hyundai, BMW, Pioneer, Cisco, Samsung, Vivante and others, are developing the promising MeeGo OS, for almost all electronic devices.

In 2011, the Finns manage to release a very promising flagship Nokia N9 with Meego on board, which has amoled display and a gigabyte of RAM. And this is in 2011!

Nokia N9

But Gorbachev's reformer Stephen Elop had already developed a new program of changes by that time. He delivers an internal speech to company employees called Burning Platform redesign, comparing the company to a man standing on the edge of a burning oil platform.

In this speech, he announces the abandonment of Symbian and the shift in priorities from MeeGo to Windows phone 7.

The very next day this secret speech is discussed even by grandmothers at the entrances, and the sale of phones based on Symbian OS instantly disappears. Then there is the unsuccessful Lumia series of phones with the primitive tiled Windows Phone interface that has not taken root and is far from top-end characteristics.

The new platform did not support multitasking. The flagships Lumia 800 and 900 had only 512 MB of RAM, instead of a slot for a flash drive, cloud 25 GB were provided, for which, of course, you need unlimited Internet, which many cannot boast to this day.

In the Windows Phone app store, the choice is significantly less than that of competitors, prices are much higher, and the word customization is not at all familiar to these “flagships”.

Falling into the abyss

As a result of such reforms, Nokia's share of the phone market fell by 26% in 2 years, and by 2012 it was only 3%. The company's value fell like the price of watermelons in September, which allowed Microsoft to buy back the once legendary Nokia mobile business for just € 5.44 billion.

And Stephen Elop suddenly decided to leave the Finnish Nokia and return to his native American Microsoft (probably because of the Finnish climate). A multi-move worthy of some TV series.

Under the terms of the contract, Microsoft received the exclusive right to use the Nokia brand until 2016. Fortunately, they had the conscience to abandon the Nokia brand earlier and now the proud name of Lumia is borne by Microsoft smartphones. There were also Nokia X series smartphones on android without Google services and with a tiled launcher, but they were so ridiculous that I will not talk about them.

Dawn

That would seem to be all. The history of smartphones under the beloved brand is over, but it was not there, the talents of Finnish engineers are not so easy to ruin.

In 2014, the real Nokia announced the release of a tablet running Android OS, which had a 64-bit Intel Z3580 processor, and even had the world's first serial USB type-C connector and was produced at the Foxconn factory.

On January 9, 2015, the long-awaited Nokia on Android began selling. All 20,000 tablets were bought in 4 minutes.

In addition, Nokia has now undertaken to conquer virtual reality, but not by the trivial way of creating new glasses. The camera is intended for creators of 3D content for all kinds of Oculus Rift, etc.

Return of the legend

In 2016, HMD Global was founded by Nokia veterans. In the same year, together with FIH mobile (subsidiary of Foxconn), it acquires Microsoft mobile. And under the terms of the contract with Nokia, he develops design, software, promotes and manufactures new mobile devices under their brand.

Thanks to this, a series of Android phones appeared in the second quarter of 2017. Nokia 3,5 and 6, which cannot yet compete with the flagships, but have every chance to take the first lines of ratings in the middle price segment.

After all, even the simplest Nokia 3 has 2 GB of RAM and pure Android, without any pre-installed garbage, is made of high-quality materials. The frame is machined from a single piece of aluminum. The smartphone has the best camera in its price segment.

Conclusion

I would like to summarize, Nokia has always kept its nose to the wind, sharply changed directions of business and got to the point. But even before the arrival of Stephen Elop, the company's sales were beginning to decline.

Many Nokia employees and fans have seen promise in Android. But the management did not listen, for which the whole company paid.

The appointment of Stephen Elop to the post of chief executive only made the situation worse, although it looks very suspicious. One involuntarily recalls the ubiquitous American spies, blackmail and wiretapping of members of large non-American corporations, about which Wikileaks and Snowden are so fond of talking.

In any case, we will never know the truth, and we don’t need to, because history has put everything in its place. The old guard is back and Nokia is alive again. We can only wish them good luck to take their rightful place in the market and wait for new revolutionary developments that change the industry for the better.

Until recently, Nokia smartphones were among the market leaders. Currently, gadgets from other companies have supplanted them, but simple dialers from this brand remain popular. Who is the producer country of "Nokia" and why is this trend observed today?

How did it all start?

Nokia's history dates back to 1865, when mining engineer Fredrik Idestam founded a pulp mill in Tampere, southwestern Finland (part of the Russian Empire). In 1868, he built a second mill near the city of Nokia, which had the best hydropower resources. In 1871, with the help of his close friend and statesman Leo Mechelin, Idestam renamed and turned his company into a joint stock company, thereby creating Nokia Ab.

Towards the end of the 19th century, Mechelin was looking to expand its electricity business. In 1896 he became chairman of the company (he held this position from 1898 to 1914) and added power generation to the core business.

In the late 1910s, shortly after World War I, Nokia was on the verge of bankruptcy. As a result, it was bought out by Suomen Gummitehdas, which had a large rubber factory located nearby. This was an important event in the history of the corporation. Even today, you can hear the question of which country is the manufacturer of Nokia tires. In 1922, the same company acquired the Suomen Kaapelitehdas plant, which produced telephone, telegraph and electrical cables, as well as established such communications.

At that time, three companies - Nokia Ab, Suomen Gummitehdas, Suomen Kaapelitehdas - did not officially merge, since the law did not allow this, but the management continued to create a successful conglomerate. The country of origin of "Nokia" did not actually change, and in 1967 all three firms were officially merged into the new industrial conglomerate Nokia Corporation.

The new company was involved in many industries, producing at various times paper products, car and bicycle tires, shoes (including rubber boots), cables, televisions and other consumer electronics, personal computers, power generation machines, robotics, and more. Each division had its own director, who reported to the first president of Nokia Corporation, Bjorn Westerlund. He was also responsible for the creation of the company's first electronics department in 1960, starting the rapid development of the telecommunications industry.

How did events develop further?

Finland gradually became known as the country of manufacture of the Nokia phone. The electronics section of the cable department was founded in 1960 and the production of the first electronic devices began in 1962. The first product was a pulse analyzer designed for use in nuclear power plants. After 1967, this department was registered as a special division, where the production of telecommunication equipment was started.

In the 1970s, Nokia became more active in the industry with the launch of the Nokia DX 200, a digital telephone switch. It became the basis for the functioning of network equipment. Its architecture allowed the development of various switching products in the future. In 1984, the development of data exchange for the Nordic Mobile Telephony network began.

In the 1970s, the company was split into a government and a commercial entity. In 1987, the state sold its shares to Nokia, and in 1992 the company name was changed to Nokia Telecommunications. From that moment on, Finland went down in history as the country of manufacture of the Nokia phone.

Pre-cell systems

The technologies that predate modern cellular mobile telephony systems were various standards for pre-cellular mobile radiotelephony. Since the 1960s, Nokia has been producing commercial and some military mobile radio technologies.

In 1964 Nokia developed a VHF radio station at the same time as Salora Oy. In 1966 Nokia and Salora began developing the ARP (Automotive Mobile Radiotelephone System) standard and the first commercial public mobile phone network in Finland. This is how Nokia (the manufacturing country - Finland) became the pioneer of new generation communications.

Participation in NMT (1G)

In 1979, the merger of Nokia and Salora led to the creation of Mobira Oy, which began developing mobile phones for the 1G NMT (Nordic Mobile Telephony) network standard. This is how the world's first fully automatic cellular telephone system appeared in Finland, which went online in 1981. In 1982, Mobira introduced its first car phone, the NMT-450.

Nokia bought all the shares of Salora Oy in 1984 and changed the name of the telecommunications business to Nokia-Mobira Oy. Mobira Talkman, released in 1984, was one of the world's first mobile phones.

In 1987, Nokia introduced its first mobile phone, the Mobira Cityman 900, dedicated to the NMT-900 networks (which, compared to the NMT-450, offered a better signal but shorter range). This device weighed only 800 grams including the battery and was priced at 24,000 Finnish marks (approximately 7,300 euros in modern terms). Despite the high price tag, the first phones were almost snatched from sellers' hands. The mobile phone was originally a VIP product and a status symbol. At that time, the question of which country of manufacture "Nokia" did not even arise. Everything was produced only in Finland.

Participation in GSM (2G)

Then Nokia was the key developer of the GSM (2G) system, which could transmit data as well as carry out voice traffic. NMT (Nordic Mobile Telephony) is the world's first mobile telephony standard for international roaming, which was introduced by the producer country of Nokia in 1987 as a new European standard in this area.

Nokia then transferred its first GSM network to the Finnish operator Radiolinja in 1989. The first commercial GSM call in the world was made on 1 July 1991 in Helsinki via a network supplied by Nokia, then Prime Minister of Finland Harri Holkeri.

In 1992, the first GSM phone Nokia 1011 was launched on the market. The number of this model refers to the release date - November 10th. The Nokia 1011 has not yet used the company's signature ringtone. Nokia's trademark melody was introduced as a ring tone in 1994 in the Nokia 2100.

High quality GSM voice calls, easy international roaming and support for services such as text messaging (SMS) have laid the foundation for a worldwide boom in mobile phone use. GSM began to dominate mobile telephony in the 1990s, and by mid-2008 there were about three billion subscribers, of which there were more than 700 mobile operators in 218 countries and territories.

Further development

The company released the Nokia 3310 in 2000. This phone became one of the most popular devices at the time. Only Finland was the country of manufacture of "Nokia-3310".

This record was soon broken by the Nokia 1100, released in 2003. In total, more than 200 million copies have been sold. This model is the best-selling mobile phone in the world in the entire history of the existence of such devices. The introduction of this phone has boosted the company's popularity in emerging markets.

Nokia developers were among the first to recognize the possibility of combining a game console and a mobile phone with the N-Gage. It was a gamer's phone that cost twice the standard device.

The device ran on Series 40, a platform used primarily for Java applications. At the time, it was the world's most popular mobile phone software. Nokia then acquired Smarterphone, a company that makes the Smarterphone OS for low-cost phones, and merged that operating system with the Series 40 to create the Asha platform.

The Asha 501 was the first phone to run the new OS. Series 40 devices were discontinued at the end of 2014.

Symbian OS

Symbian was Nokia's main operating system for smartphones until 2011. Popular devices based on this platform include the following:

• 7650 - the first smartphone on the S60;
• Nokia N-Gage - the first gaming-focused smartphone;
• 6600 - the first Symbian smartphone with an original design (about a million units sold);
• 7610 - the first device with a megapixel camera;
• The N90 is the first camera-oriented mobile phone;
• N95 is a popular slider;
• N82 with xenon flash;
• E71, offering a full qwerty keyboard and premium build;
• 5800 XpressMusic - the first full-featured smartphone;
• N97 - phone with full contact screen and side QWERTY keyboard;
• The X6 is the first gadget with a capacitive touchscreen;
• The N8 is a device with a newer 12 megapixel camera and Symbian ^ 3.

Also released was the Nokia 808 PureView, which featured a record 41 megapixel camera.

Linux devices

The first Linux devices from Nokia were the Nokia and N900 internet tablets, which ran on Debian-based Maemo. The Maemo project later teamed up with Intel Moblin to create MeeGo. The N9 smartphone was released before further device development changed in favor of Windows Phone.

The Nokia X family of devices running Android was Nokia's last standalone launch on a Linux-based platform. Subsequently, Nokia 8 came out, the country of origin of which remained the same, but it was a joint project of several companies. Then phones with serial numbers 6, 5, 3 and so on appeared in this line.

Reorganizations

As you can see from the above, the manufacturing country of Nokia is Finland, from the first day of production. However, the company developed further, opening its branches around the world.

Thus, on May 5, 2000, Nokia opened its mobile phone factory in Hungary. In April 2003, problems arose related to the separation of equipment from the networks. This forced the corporation to resort to various optimization techniques, including layoffs and organizational restructuring. Such measures have significantly shaken Nokia's reputation in Finland.

In March 2007, a new manufacturing country for Nokia appeared - the company signed a memorandum with the Cluj County Council in Romania to open a plant near the city of Giuku. The relocation of production from Germany to a low-wage country caused a lot of resonance. Around the same time, Nokia moved some of its headquarters to the United States. In 2008, the company entered the mobile phone market in Japan.

In February 2012, the company announced 4,000 layoffs due to the relocation of production from Europe and Mexico to Asia. This is how additional countries-producers of Nokia smartphones appeared.

Loss of smartphone market share

Apple's iPhone, originally released in 2007, initially felt intense competition from popular Nokia smartphones, especially the N95. Symbian OS held a dominant (62.5%) market share.

However, with the release of the iPhone 3G in 2008, Apple's market share doubled by the end of the year, and the iPhone OS (now known as iOS) overtook Windows Mobile. Despite the fact that Nokia retained 40.8% of the market, the popularity of devices has noticeably decreased.

The N96, launched at the end of 2008, was far less successful, with the 5800 XpressMusic being considered the main competitor to the iPhone 3G. However, the success of the business-oriented Nokia E71 was not enough to stem the decline in market share. On June 24, 2008, Nokia bought the Symbian operating system, and a year later opened the source code.

In early 2009, Nokia launched the N97, a touchscreen device with a landscape QWERTY keyboard focused on social media. It was a commercial success despite mixed reviews. The main competitor to the N97 was the iPhone 3GS. Several devices were also released in 2009 and received a positive response (including the Nokia E52). However, Symbian's market share declined from 52.4% in the fourth quarter of 2008 to 46.1% in 2009. So, the RIM platform (later Blackberry) increased its market share during this period from 16.6% to 19.9%, and Apple - from 8.2% to 14.4%. The Android niche grew at the same time to 3.9%.

Difficult period until 2011

In 2010, competitive pressure on Nokia increased dramatically as Android and iOS continued to evolve. Other Symbian device makers, including Samsung Electronics and Sony Ericsson, began making Android-based gadgets, and by mid-2010 Nokia had become the only OEM outside of Japan. The company replaced the S60 with Symbian ^ 3, but it still didn't gain popularity.

By the fourth quarter of 2010, Symbian's market share fell to 32%, while the Android niche grew to 30%. Despite these losses, manufacturing remained profitable, and smartphone sales increased every quarter throughout 2010. Many developing countries in Asia remained the producing countries of Nokia.

In February 2010, Nokia and Intel announced MeeGo, merging their Linux-based Maemo and Moblin projects. The joint activity was aimed at creating a single mobile operating system for a wide range of devices, including tablets and smartphones. In particular, Nokia planned to use MeeGo as the successor to Symbian on its future phones. However, only the Nokia N9 was released.

Microsoft partnership

In February 2011, representatives from Nokia and Microsoft jointly announced a major business partnership between the two companies. Its essence boiled down to using Windows Phone as the main platform for Nokia smartphones, replacing Symbian and MeeGo. The collaboration also included the use of Bing as a search engine on Nokia devices, as well as the integration of Nokia Maps into Microsoft's own mapping services.

The company announced that there will be only one MeeGo-powered device in 2011. On October 26, 2011, Nokia unveiled its first Windows Phone 7 devices, the Lumia 710 and Lumia 800 line. Following this announcement, the company's share price fell by about 14%. Sales of Nokia smartphones, which had previously increased, collapsed.

From the beginning of 2011 to 2013, Nokia's rating in device sales fell from first to tenth place. In this regard, the corporation reported a loss of 368 million euros in the second quarter of 2011, while in the same period in 2010 it made a profit of 227 million.

In September 2011, Nokia announced that it would cut another 3,500 jobs worldwide, including the closure of its factory in Romania.

Since Nokia was the largest manufacturer of mobile phones and smartphones worldwide, it was assumed that the use of Windows Phone would help regain its former influence. However, the company was unable to compete with the rapidly growing Apple. In 2012, there were a number of layoffs and layoffs, and the number of producing countries for Nokia has become much smaller. In addition, the company closed production and research sites in Finland, Germany and Canada due to ongoing losses, and the share price fell to its lowest level since 1996.

Further collaboration

Nokia's CEO acknowledged that the company's failure to anticipate rapid changes in the mobile phone industry has become one of the main causes of the problems. In May 2013, Nokia released the Asha platform for low-cost smartphones. In the same month, the company announced its partnership with the world's largest cellular operator China Mobile, resulting in the Lumia 920 and Lumia 920T, an exclusive Chinese variant.

Microsoft subsequently acquired the Asha, X and Lumia brands, but only received a limited license for the Nokia brand (until December 2015). Subsequently, smartphones of this line came out under the Microsoft brand. So, the USA became the country of origin of "Nokia Lumiya".

On November 17, 2014, Nokia representatives made a statement that the company plans to re-enter the consumer electronics business by licensing its own hardware projects and technologies to third-party manufacturers. The next day, Nokia unveiled Foxconn's Android-powered tablet N1 as its first product after Microsoft's sale.

On April 14, 2015, the corporation confirmed that it is in talks with the French company Alcatel-Lucent regarding a possible merger. The next day, Nokia officially announced that it had agreed to buy Alcatel-Lucent for 15.6 billion euros. The acquisition aimed to create a stronger competitor for Ericsson and Huawei, which the combined companies surpassed in terms of total revenues in 2014.

In support of the initiative, Nokia CEO said the merger would provide more opportunities for the upcoming 5G development. The merger with Alcatel was formalized on January 14, 2016.

New Finnish models before Nokia 3

The country of origin of devices of this brand may be located in Asia at the present time. However, in the course of numerous reorganizations, production returned to Finland.

On May 18, 2016, it was reported that Microsoft had sold the Nokia branded division of FIH Mobile to Foxconn and the new company HMD in Finland. They are supposed to work together to create Nokia devices. Nokia will provide the brand and patent licensing to HMD and will take a seat on the company's board of directors.

In January 2017, the Nokia 6 was released - the first jointly developed Android smartphone. The country of manufacture of "Nokia 6" was Finland. Soon there were more phones labeled 5, 3 and 6 art. The production of these newest models is based there, and the country of origin of the Nokia 5 is evident.

Today we will talk about the cult transnational company Nokia. Nokia is one of the few companies that has changed the direction of its activities more than once and, having huge ups and downs just as much, continued its activities. Today the company is known to many thanks to the production of mobile phones, communicators, Nokia Here map service.

So, Nokia was founded in 1865 engineer Frederic Idestam and Leopold Mechelin in Finland.

Initially, the company was engaged in the production of wood pulp near the Nokia River. This time is known for rapid industrial growth, the need for cellulose products grew day by day. The company began to actively develop and attract more and more workforce. As a result, the export of paper products was established far beyond the borders of Finland: Russia, England, France.

And already in 1871 Nokia Corporation was founded. The firm has confidently conquered the markets of Denmark, Germany, Russia, England, Poland and France. The co-founder of the company, Leopold Mechelin, proposed expanding to include the production of electricity and cables, but this idea did not like its founder Idestam, who left the company in 1896. Mechelin succeeded in promoting his idea to shareholders, and by 1902, one of the company's activities was the production of electricity. Also, by the middle of the 19th century, the vulcanization technology was mastered, which made it possible to use rubber in various spheres of life. In Finland, the Finnish Rubber Works (FRW) was involved in rubber production. When the management of this company made a decision to relocate production, they chose the land next to Nokia, because could buy electricity from them at low prices.

The rapid development of industry implied the need for the production of cables for power transmission, telegraph and telephone networks. As a result finnish Cable Works was founded in 1912.

In 1920, Nokia Corporation, Finnish Rubber Works and Finnish Cable Works formed a coalition agreement to form the Nokia Group. It turned out that three different companies used the same name - Nokia. This “union” played into the hands of all three firms, since together they formed a virtually closed chain of power generation and transmission (by the 1920s, Nokia was manufacturing power plants). It was this kind of diversification that helped to overcome the difficult situation of the post-war crisis that ravaged the world.

The company is engaged in various production, creating at some time paper products, automobile and bicycle tires, shoes, various cables, televisions and other household appliances, personal computers, electric generators, robotics, capacitors, military communications and equipment (like the encrypted text communicator Sanomalaite M / 90 and M61 gas mask for the Finnish army), plastics, aluminum and chemicals.

In 1966 it began and in 1967 three enterprises were finally formed - Nokia, FRW and FRC. Oy Nokia Ab was an industrial, worked in four main areas: the timber industry, the production of rubber, cables and electronics. Older businesses, especially cable manufacturing, continued to drive Nokia's profitability. Some Finnish observers believe the control system was taken from a cable factory; but brought the rubber industry. And the electronics division helped revive Nokia's competitiveness in the company's next phase.

Together with Salora, Nokia begins work on high-frequency radio technology. As a result, the ARP communication standard was singled out. In the mid-1970s, one of the first Nokia telecommunications products was released, the DX200 switch for automatic telephone exchanges.

In 1984, after the buyout of part of the shares of the joint company Mobira, Nokia releases one of the first portable phones - Mobira Talkman. The device consisted of two parts: a transmitter and a talking tube, and its weight was almost 5 kilograms.

And in 1987, thanks to technical progress, the company presents Nokia Cityman, a mobile phone with a single block of hardware hardware. By the way, the weight dropped to 750 grams)))

In 1992, the company released the world's first GSM phone - Nokia 1011.

In the same year, the famous Connecting People slogan was first used.

At the moment Nokia is the largest company in Finland in terms of capitalization - $ 30 billion. The company is the largest employer in Finland, with a total staff of about 100 thousand people. Since September 2010, Stephen Elop has been CEO, under whom the transition of smartphones to Windows Phone and the further sale of the mobile division took place. And the market share of smartphones fell from 29% in 2010 to 3% in 2012. He also cut the staff by 20,000 and received more than $ 25 million after approving a deal with Microsoft and later borrowed from this company.

It is worth noting that the decline in popularity was outlined even before Elop took over as CEO.

It turns out that his actions only worsened the already poor state of the company, because. Samsung, LG and Apple began to enter the market.

As for the financial side, the company reported to the public for its own activities in the fourth quarter of last year and for 2013 as a whole. As expected, the numbers are pretty depressing. So, operating in the fourth quarter fell by 17% and amounted to € 274 million, and revenue - by 21% (€ 3.476 billion). At the same time, it amounted to € 12.709 million, which is also 17% lower than in 2012. As we recall, the mobile unit was sold and is referred to as “operations”. It is reported that sales of Lumia over a three-month period decreased from 8.8 million units to 8.2 million, and in total since its inception (2011) Nokia has sold about 44 million devices on Windows Phone (which is approximately as much as Apple sold in that the same quarter or total figure of the Samsung Galaxy S4 since March 2013).

However, the other three whales that Nokia is holding on to continue to be profitable. In particular, Nokia Solutions and Networks reports revenues of € 3.105 billion (€ 2.592 billion in the third quarter) and operating income of € 243 million (€ 166 million). The HERE mapping service brought finans 20% higher revenue than in the third quarter, reaching € 254 with an operating profit of € 18 million. Advanced Technologies (research division) earned € 310 million in a year, which is slightly lower than a year earlier , but Nokia was able to obtain a strategic advantage by prolonging its cooperation with Samsung on the use of "Finnish" patents, the royalties for which began on January 1, 2014. Well, Nokia has drawn a line under its phone business. In a year, the new financial results will tell how justified such a decision by the board will become, which caused a huge public outcry in Finland and abroad.

And in November 2014, the Nokia N1 tablet was announced. It should be noted that the company licensed the brand to the Chinese company Foxconn. Those. from Nokia has only a brand and a proprietary Z Launcher, built on the Android 5 platform. The tablet turned out to be successful, of course, the design is rather suspiciously similar to the iPad Mini, but this is where all the similarities end. The tablet got a gorgeous 2048x1536 display, a 64-bit Intel Atom processor and a starting price tag of $ 250, which is the best price / quality ratio in this segment. The release of the Tablet is scheduled for 2015.

Nokia is also conducting research in the study of graphene (allotropic modification of carbon). The material itself is 300 times stronger than steel, it is almost transparent, has a tensile margin and much more. Nokia has received $ 1.35 billion from the European Union (UE) to research and develop this heavy-duty material over the next ten years. And there are already results. Nokia Battery 300 is a carbon battery that generates protons upon contact with water and recharges itself. Sufficient air humidity is 30% to charge the battery.

We can also mention the advances in the development of flexible (rather than curved) displays that use mechanical deformation for various kinds of functions. So far, these are raw prototypes, but there is no doubt that they will find their application in the near future.

Finally, I would like to say that given that Nokia changed its focus every time, depending on the wishes of the market (and did it quite successfully), I would not be surprised at the company's success in the field of graphene and other mobile solutions.

Thanks for attention))

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