Nokia just died...again
If you are a millennial, your first phone was probably a Nokia. Nokia Corporation, the Finnish company behind the iconic brand, no longer manufactures phones, but the Nokia name lives on through a partnership with HMD Global. It may be on its last legs though.
You can't bank on nostalgia to sell phones and HMD Global appears to have realized that it can't milk the name anymore. The company has already made known its intentions to sell its own non-Nokia phones and now, the Nokia brand is slowly being wiped from the internet.
As first reported by Nokiamob, the Nokia.com/phones website now redirects to HMD.com and the company has taken up a new identity. It's calling itself Human Mobile Devices and says that it wants to make "tough, fun, secure, fast, and affordable" phones.
The site still sells Nokia phones but it's clear that HMD is ready to shed its identity as a Nokia brand licensee and be known as a whole new company.
And while HMD hasn't said that it will stop making new Nokia phones, the writing is on the wall.
All Nokia Mobile social media accounts have been locked. MyNokia, the official channel for Nokia-branded products sold by brand licensees, has announced that all channels will be closing on February 7.
We have some news to share. We are empowering our brand licensees to own their online presence and will be closing the MyNokia channels on February 7. For information and customer support: https://t.co/v6vm2vlX98
— MyNokia (@MyNokiaOfficial) January 31, 2024
Thank you for all your support over the years pic.twitter.com/cNVHg2jgCr
Keep in mind that neither Nokia nor HMD has said anything officially about ending production but we doubt that the latter will be renewing its agreement, which is expiring soon.
While Nokia wasn't particularly popular among smartphone buyers, it wasn't a lost cause. It was one of the only two brands to grow in Q3 2023 in the US. Thus, it's a little surprising to see HMD completely give up on it.
On the bright side, HMD is said to be working on no less than six phones, but whether they will fill the Nokia-sized gaps in our hearts remains to be seen.
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed: