Here's the details of the deal.
- Finnish private venture HMD global is taking over a part of Microsoft’s feature phones business, as well as the rights to sell Nokia-branded devices.
- Microsoft will sell the rest of the feature phone business (the manufacturing side) to FIH, a subsidiary of Taiwanese giant Foxconn, for $350 million.
- Nokia Technologies (Nokia’s technology and licensing business) will license its brand and some of its telecom patents to HMD global.
- HMD global will have exclusive rights to manufacture and sell Nokia-branded feature phones, smartphones, and tablets.
- Nokia Technologies will have a say in the development of Nokia-branded products. These products will have to pass “mandatory brand requirements and performance provisions.” Nokia will also have a seat on HMD’s board.
- HMD global will be headed by former Nokia executive Arto Nummela, currently a VP at Microsoft.
This whole thing is saying that Nokia is back alive, Nokia Android phones and tablets are coming soon. They will be developed by HMD global, with input from Nokia Technologies, and manufactured by Foxconn. After almost a decade, the dream of a real Android Nokia phone is about to be realized.
The interesting part of the deal is that Nokia Technologies will be involved in the creation of new devices that will have to “exemplify consumer expectations of Nokia devices, including quality, design and consumer focused innovation.
Source: Android Authority