Category: Featured News

The Nokia brand is being revived under a new licensing agreement.

The Finish-based multinational communications and information technology company has announced that it will be making a comeback in the mobile industry and will be licensing its brand and intellectual property to HMD global, a newly established company that will produce and sell a portfolio of Andoird-powered Nokia smartphones, feature-phones and tablets.

Feature-phones will be one of the main focuses.

HMD Global – also a company based out of Finland and led by ex-Nokia veteran Arto Nummela – made a conditional agreement with Microsoft to acquire the rights to make and sell Nokia branded mobile devices.

The major focus of HMD Global will be on feature-phones; the mobile device with which Nokia Technologies has had the greatest amount of success. The agreement that Nokia has made with HMD will give the company all of Nokia’s branding and cellular patents and, in return, Nokia will receive royalty payments from HMD for the sales of the devices, which will cover both brand and intellectual property rights. This agreement will last for ten years.

Once the transaction is completed, which is expected to occur in late June, Nummela will become the CEO.

HMD plans to invest over $500 million to support the global marketing of Nokia smartphones and other mobile devices.

This large investment, which is planned to take place over the next three years, will be paid for by the new business’s investors and profits.

Commenting on the new agreement, Nokia Technologies President Ramzi Haidamus said that it marks the start “of an exciting new chapter for the Nokia brand in an industry where Nokia remains a truly iconic name.” He added that “Instead of Nokia returning to manufacturing mobile phones itself, HMD plans to produce mobile phones and tablets that can leverage and grow the value of the Nokia brand in global markets.”

In addition to its new deal with HMD Global, the remainder of Nokia’s business has been purchased by FIH Mobile ltd., a subsidiary of Foxconn Technology Group. FIH reportedly purchased Nokia’s former feature-phone business from Microsoft for $350 million and will take over its manufacturing facility in Vietnam.

FIH and HMD have already formed a collaborative agreement designed “to support the building of a global business for Nokia-branded mobile phones and tablets,” reported The Verge.

Presently, no information has been released in regard to when consumers can expect the new Nokia smartphones, feature-phones and tablets to hit the market.

The new VR experience is set to debut in Los Angeles later this year.

The theatre company, famed for its massive projection systems and IMAX cameras recently announced that it intends to launch several IMAX virtual reality entertainment locations around the world later this year, starting with its first in Los Angeles, reported the Wall Street Journal.

IMAX has partnered with Google and Starbreeze AB to bring its mainstream VR plans to life.

To launch its virtual reality entertainment in locations like malls and multiplexes across the United States and in other parts of the world like China, the company has formed new partnerships in the tech community and intends to use its connections with movie theatres and movie industry talent.

IMAX has partnered with Google and announced late last week that it has plans to collaborate with Google on a camera that will capture 360 degree images designed to be experienced in virtual reality via VR headsets. It is anticipated that this camera will be ready for commercial use in approximately 18 months.

In addition to Google, IMAX has partnered with Starbreeze AB, a Swedish technology developer, and will use its VR headsets to provide the immersive experience. To start, the IMAX VR experience will involve games, but the company hopes that it will be able to motivate filmmakers to the use the camera it is developing with Google to create other entertainment content, too.

The IMAX virtual reality experience is part of a much bigger strategy to expand the brand beyond movies.

According to Richard Gelfond, IMAX Chief Executive, the company’s move into the VR industry is part of its much larger strategy to evolve the company beyond the movie industry.

Gelfond said that “Virtual reality in the home is going to be a crowded space, but we thought the idea of doing VR in the multiplex of the future was a place where we can provide a superior experience and a social experience, which are the same reasons people go to movies.”

That being said, while IMAX virtual reality could be an actual reality soon don’t expect this VR experience to come cheap. While none of the official details have been hammered out, Gelfond said that he is particularly interested in developing VR content that is linked to film franchises because this would naturally appeal to move goers. The cost: he imagines 10 minute VR experiences costing between $7 and $10.