Farewell Nokia

Zack Chapepa Avatar

nokia 1There’s this nostalgic feeling tied to the name Nokia that brings back all those memories that you once had, those memories that made you believe in mobile phones.

Like the billions of people out there, I used to own a Nokia phone. It was my first personal phone to be frank. It had no email, no browser, no music player, nothing. It was just a mobile phone. But with that less functionality, it was all I needed to marvel at just how much of a technological achievement it was.

I can only bear the memories familiar with me but I cannot speak for the millions who had their own first hand experience with multiple Nokia phones.

I had a Nokia 1200. A compact phone with a blue strip running across the side of the phone. I loved everything about it, the games, those whimsical emojis you could stick to represent a contact. It was all meant to create a bond with the device. Nokia wasn’t just crafting phones, they were building the future. I remember feeling like calling anyone because I could.

And that weight I felt in my pocket was a weight like no other. It reassured me that whatever I had in my pocket, when my pocket felt lighter, it’s was because it was not there anymore. I felt a sense of connection than ever before.

That was before I knew it was possible to listen to music from the same thing you called a ‘phone’ or do anything else that you can do on your smartphone today.

Everything about Nokia spoke to me in shades that mirrored the future, but Nokia’s future is now no more. We all knew it was coming since Nokia was acquired last year for US$7 billion by Microsoft. We just didn’t know how far Microsoft was willing to keep the Nokia moniker.

On Wednesday, a leaked document obtained and confirmed by The Verge showed Microsoft’s intention to drop the Nokia branding from any marketing material this coming holiday season. A statement from the document goes as follows;

“As part of our phased transition, we will drop the manufacturer name [Nokia] from product references during the Holiday campaign”

It seems Microsoft will be replacing the ‘Nokia’ branding with ‘Lumia’ and ‘Windows Phone’ with just ‘Windows’, which is to be expected since Nokia is in Microsoft’s hands right now. The Microsoft/Nokia deal was only finalised this year after a few delays in India but the deal has since been closed

Even when Nokia is being erased from the face of the earth, I will always remember Nokia as the brand that shaped my mobile phone world, that small company that started out with making rubber boots and morphed into a brand that defined “connecting people

Image courtesy of The Wall Street Journal

Had any personal experience with a Nokia phone that you wish to share? Leave it in the comments below

9 comments

  1. Tapiwa

    Zack, I’m afraid your article does not paint an accurate picture on what’s happening to Nokia, it most definitely not being “erased from the face of the earth”. Here are the facts;

    1. Microsoft bought the devices and services unit of Nokia (let’s call this Nokia M) along with the rights to the Nokia brand. The remainder of Nokia (non-manufacturing) still exists, and works on HERE maps, for example (let’s call this Nokia Prime)
    2. The agreement says that Nokia Prime is not allowed to be involved in the mobile industry until 2016. Also Microsoft’s rights to the ‘Nokia’ brand will expire in 2016

    So Microsoft is toning down the ‘Nokia’ branding in preparation for 2016. And it also means Nokia Prime can manufacture Nokia-branded phones in 2016, if they so choose (or sell the brand to Lenovo). So no, Nokia isn’t being erased from the face of the earth.

    [1]. from the Verge article you linked
    [2]. http://www.forbes.com/sites/ewanspence/2013/09/05/could-we-see-a-finnish-smartphone-from-nokia-in-2016-jolla-sailfish-android/

    1. Zack Chapepa

      Hello, Tapiwa

      Thanks for your comment. I have to mention that indeed the ‘Nokia’ mark could be used by the Finnish company starting ’16 but starting Wednesday the focus on pushing the brand out there will be terminated.

      Being ‘erased from the face of the earth’ was just metaphorical and I guess it does paint the wrong picture. But we can also argue that Nokia as we know it, is dead.

      Oh, and by the way Here Services is also licensed by Microsoft under a 4-year deal (sans NSN and Advanced Technologies)

      Cheers.

    2. Zack Chapepa

      For reference on the change in perspective here’s a good piece
      http://techcrunch.com/2014/07/17/disconnecting-people/

  2. chirau

    It wasn’t just a phone…it had “Snake”

    1. Zack Chapepa

      Agreed.

      It think it was the best mobile game of it’s time (even with the retro graphics)

  3. Keyman

    I will miss nokia traditional ringtone

  4. symphonyX

    i still use nokia…. i bet i wl ev. till hamheno

  5. Farai

    I still have my 1610 and 3410…and the pouches to put on my belt…cowboy style!!! 😀

  6. พนันบอลออนไลน์

    This is a very good article. Thank you for a great information.
    I love the Nokia and I want to come back again.

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