Nokia, a Finnish global company, originated as a paper mill in 1865. Expanding through the 19th century, it became a corporation in 1967. Nokia capitalized on the late 20th-century computer and mobile phone boom but faced market challenges. Ultimately, Microsoft acquired its mobile phone division in 2014.
Nokia History of 19th century
The name “Nokia” comes from the town of Nokia and the adjacent Nokianvirta River. Predecessor companies include Nokia Ab, Finnish Rubber Works Ltd, and Finnish Cable Works Ltd. In 1865, mining engineer Fredrik Idestam established a wood pulp mill in Tampere, Finland, and later built another near Nokia in 1868 due to better hydropower resources. In 1871, Idestam and statesman Leo Mechelin turned the enterprise into a public limited company, Nokia Ab. After Idestam’s retirement in 1896, Mechelin became chairman and led Nokia into the electricity business, starting in 1902.
Nokia history of 20th century
Eduard Polón, a Finnish business leader, founded the Finnish Rubber Works in 1898, manufacturing rubber products like galoshes. The company built factories near Nokia, using the town’s name for branding. After WWI, the near-bankrupt Nokia Company was acquired by the Finnish Rubber Works.
In 1932, Finnish Rubber Works also acquired the Finnish Cable Works, a telephone, telegraph, and electrical cable manufacturer founded by Arvid Wickström in 1912. Verner Weckman, Finland’s first Olympic Gold medalist wrestler, became the Finnish Cable Works president in 1963. Post-WWII, the company supplied cables to the Soviet Union as war reparations, securing a foothold for future trade.
Nikia network equipment
During the 1970s, Nokia introduced the Nokia DX 200, a digital switch for telephone exchanges that became essential to its network equipment division. Its flexible architecture allowed for further development into other products, including a 1984 exchange for the Nordic Mobile Telephone network. This division eventually merged with a state entity to form “Telefenno”, which Nokia fully acquired in 1987 and renamed Nokia Telecommunications in 1992.
In 1998, Nokia partnered with Israeli multinational company Check Point, bundling its software with Nokia’s network security tools.
First nokia mobile phone 1g
In 1979, Nokia and Salora created a joint venture, “Mobira Oy,” developing mobile phones for the Nordic Mobile Telephone (NMT) “1G” network, which launched in 1981. In 1982, Mobira released its first car phone, the “Mobira Senator.” After acquiring Salora in 1984, Nokia’s telecommunications division became “Nokia-Mobira Oy” and introduced the “Mobira Talkman,” an early portable phone. In 1987, Nokia launched its first mobile phone, the “Mobira Cityman 900,” which, despite its high price, became a status symbol. The same year, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev was seen using the phone, earning it the nickname “Gorba.” In 1989, Nokia-Mobira Oy was renamed “Nokia Mobile Phones.”
nokia history of 21th century
In 2000, Nokia launched the iconic Nokia 3310, followed by the Nokia 1100 handset in 2003. They also ventured into mobile gaming with the N-Gage, which combined a video game console and a mobile phone. In April 2008, Nokia Productions initiated a mobile movie-making project directed by Spike Lee, featuring short segments made on phones contributed by the public.
In 2009, Nokia reentered the personal computing market with the Nokia Booklet 3G, a Windows-based netbook, and also entered the smartphone market. The Series 40, a phone platform used in feature phones, mainly supported Java-based applications. Nokia later acquired Smarterphone, a company specializing in operating systems for “low-end” phones, and merged it with Series 40 to create the Asha Platform. The Asha 501 used this new operating system, which incorporated some features from Nokia’s MeeGo platform. The Series 40 was discontinued in late 2014.
symbian OS
Until 2011, Nokia primarily used the Symbian operating system for its smartphones. Devices featuring the Symbian OS included Nokia 7650, Nokia N-Gage, Nokia N96, Nokia 6600, Nokia 7610, Nokia 6630, Nokia N90, Nokia N95, Nokia N82, Nokia E71, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, Nokia N97, Nokia X6, and Nokia N8. In 2012, Nokia introduced the 808 PureView, which boasted a 41-megapixel camera and was the last phone to utilize the Symbian platform.
linux device
Nokia’s first Linux devices were the Nokia Internet tablets and the Nokia N900, running the Debian-based Maemo OS. The Maemo project eventually merged with Intel’s Moblin, resulting in the creation of MeeGo. Nokia N9, which ran MeeGo, was released before the platform was abandoned in favor of Windows Phone. The final Nokia products to use Linux were the Nokia X series, featuring an Android operating system.
and more
Nokia has undergone several reorganizations and acquisitions throughout its history. In 2000, they opened a mobile phone factory in Hungary. In 2003, difficulties in their network equipment division led to restructuring and layoffs. In 2006, CEO Jorma Ollila resigned and Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo took over. Nokia continued expanding its facilities and closing others over the years.
Nokia made several acquisitions, such as Sega.com for developing the N-Gage device and Intellisync Corporation for data and PIM synchronization software. Other acquisitions included Navteq, a digital mapping data supplier, Enpocket for mobile advertising technology, and Smarterphone for feature phone operating systems.
Nokia faced a loss of smartphone market share with the rise of Apple’s iPhone. In 2011, they partnered with Microsoft to adopt Windows Phone as their primary operating system, but sales continued to decline. Nokia eventually sold its mobile phone business to Microsoft in 2014 for €3.79 billion, with Microsoft acquiring the Asha, X, and Lumia brands.
Nokia continued with its infrastructure division, Nokia Networks, and development and licensing division, Nokia Technologies. In 2016, they purchased telecommunications equipment company Alcatel-Lucent. The same year, Microsoft sold the Nokia-branded feature phone division to Foxconn’s FIH Mobile and Finnish company HMD Global. Since then, HMD Global, with Nokia’s licensing, has released several Nokia-branded smartphones running Android.
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