After losing the smartphone battle a couple of years ago, it was almost like we had forgotten what Nokia was. Once a giant in the mobile industry, Nokia was simply kicked out of the game amid evolution and with heavy hearts, the world bid adieu to it.
However, it preached about coming back in the game and finally the long wait is over. After acquiring rights to the Nokia brand name last year, HMD Global has finally launched the first Android-powered smartphone bearing Nokia’s name called the Nokia 6. The Nokia 6, announced by HMD Global on January 8th 2017, will be initially available for buying for 1699 CNY (roughly Rs 16,739) in China only, with no word on global availability and pricing for now.
But, the bigger point to note here is that Nokia is back. There was previously no estimated time frame around which Nokia would launch its smartphones. Although, reports had hinted that Android-based Nokia phones would be released some time in Q2 2017. The Nokia 6, it seems, would be hitting the market (albeit, just in China) sooner than one would have anticipated.
Surprisingly, HMD Global did not take the global stage at CES to unveil Nokia's new smartphone. It, instead, decided to announce it rather silently which means global media is still to get their hands on a functional unit. The company has, however, teased the phone on its global website, and also took the wraps off of what's in store.
The Nokia 6 by HMD Global runs Android 7.0 Nougat out-of-the-box and supports dual-SIM cards. It features a 5.5-inch (1080x1920 pixels) Full HD display with 2.5D curved glass coating and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor along with Adreno 505 GPU and 4GB LPDDR3 RAM. The device will offer 64GB of storage and Dolby Atmos audio. At the back of the device is a 16MP camera, while at the front is an 8MP camera. The 4G LTE -supporting Nokia 6 comes with Bluetooth v4.1, GPS, USB OTG and Wi-Fi connectivity and has a 3000mAh battery as well.
Nokia phones are known for their build quality and it seems like HMD has done its bit to ensure this holds true with the Nokia 6. The device features an aluminium build and the company says that it takes 55 minutes to machine the device from a block of aluminium. It then receives two separate anodising processes, which take over 10 hours to complete and each phone is polished at least five times.
Finland-based HMD will manufacture Nokia's upcoming phones -- for ten years in a row -- in partnership with Foxconn: the same company that also makes Apple's iPhones. HMD will invest a minimum of 500 million Euros in marketing in the first three years alone and will broadly deal with developing (marketing) and selling all Nokia-branded smartphones and accessories.
The Nokia 6, it seems, is just the beginning. Clearly, more Nokia smartphones are in tow. The fact that Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri will be hosting a keynote at the upcoming MWC event in February raises lots of possibilities. Chances are the world would also get the first look at the Nokia 6 at the MWC, prior to availability. Going by its spec-sheet, the Nokia 6 appears to be a decent mid-ranger banking heavily on nostalgia.
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