The rumors of the return of the Nokia phone are true. The Finnish company’s CEO Rajeev Suri told Germany’s Manager Magazin that it may look for partnerships to create new devices.
“Microsoft makes mobile phones. We would simply design them and then make the brand name available to license,” Suri said according to a translation from Reuters.
Microsoft seems to be moving out the mobile phone business.The company recently abandoned the Nokia name and has increased its offerings for iOS and Android platforms. And with the news the former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop and other executives are leaving the company and the devices division is getting rolled into the Windows group, Microsoft may be looking to write the Nokia deal off.
Nokia hasn’t abandoned making devices though. Shortly after the sale of their smartphone division, the company debuted the N1 tablet, an Android machine with a more subdued color palette than their former smartphone line. Rumors earlier this year pointed to Nokia’s renewed interest in making smartphones, but the company’s agreement with Microsoft prohibits it from selling Nokia-branded phones until 2016.
