Nokia: No plans to manufacture or sell consumer handsets
Nokia: We have "no plans to manufacture or sell consumer handsets"
Nokia has issued an official statement on its website to refute earlier reports that it plans to manufacture Android phones from a facility in China.
According to Nokia, the reports are inaccurate and "include comments incorrectly attributed to a Nokia Networks executive". It also states that there are "no plans to manufacture or sell consumer handsets".
While the official statement rules out any hope of Nokia actually developing new consumer handsets, it does raise the possibility that Nokia can license smartphone designs to third-party manufacturers.
This is what Nokia did with the N1 tablet; it licensed out the industrial design, branding, software and IP to Foxconn. Re/code reported last week that Nokia is likely to use a similar tactic if it is to return to the phone market in 2016. Will we actually see a return of Nokia-designed phones next year? Keep your fingers crossed!
Source: Nokia via PhoneArena