Nokia back in the mobile market: licensing agreement with Global HDMI

On the day of Microsoft today confirmed the sale of the production and sale of smartphones in FIH Global Mobile and HDM. But the press release issued by the Redmond describes only half of the story that has some even more interesting contours. If FIH Mobile is a subsidiary of Foxconn, little has been said so far HDM Global, a Finnish company formed in 2015 that once again back in the spotlight with an important announcement to that seen tied to Nokia.

The Finnish home and HDM Global have formalized a licensing agreement under which Nokia Technology (division of Nokia that deals with the development and management of intellectual property) will allow HDM Global, to borrow the wording of the press release: "create a new generation mobile phone and tablet Nokia brand." The term "mobile phone" means literally "mobile phone" or simply "cell" and the reference in the technical sense is to feature phones, partly because, according to the agreements signed with Microsoft, the brand Nokia can not be affixed on smartphones until the end of 2016. But the reality of the agreement is broader ...

HDM Global is in fact more explicit in announcing the content of the agreement, by titrating in the press release: "HDM Global is founded to create a new generation of smartphones, feature phones, and Nokia-branded tablet." HDM Global will continue to market feature phones to Nokia brand, following the acquisition of the asset by Microsoft, in addition, expressly adds, a new range of smartphones and tablets, using the resources provided by Nokia (licenses, technologies, know-how) . The official press release makes clear that Nokia and HDM Global, to achieve the purpose, will work with FIH Mobile which, remember, will finalize the acquisition of the production structure of Microsoft Mobile Vietnam in the second half of 2016.

In essence, it is a business model similar to the one triggered by Nokia in collaboration with Foxconn for the production of the tablet N1: Nokia will provide know-how, licenses and brand, while HDM and FIH Global Mobile will handle the production, marketing and sales of feature phones, smartphones and tablets (FIH will likely have an active part in production).

What products it will be and what will be the operating system? HDM Global is expressed with clarity as of now:

HDM provides for its future smartphones and tablets branded Nokia Android OS

There were cyclical rumor about the possible return to the market of smartphones branded Nokia equipped with the Android operating system and such explicit confirmation by HDM Global supports them without mistakes.

What's more, examining who will form the HDM Global Summits, it may be convinced that the creation of the company has been the instrument chosen by Nokia to return in the mobile sector without exposing themselves in the first person. The new CEO will Arto Nummela, former Nokia executive and current head of Microsoft's Mobile Devices division for the area Asia, Middle East and Africa and responsible global business feature Microsoft phone. The President will be Florian Seiche, currently senior vice president of Microsoft Mobile for sales and marketing in Europe and former head Nokia, HTC.

One of the five members of the HDM Global board of directors will also be a representative of Nokia, the headquarters of HDM Global is located in Helsinki (Finland), and the HDM properties is due to Smart Connect LP, a private equity fund managed by Jean-Francois Baril, also a former leader Nokia. Undeniable is the strong link between the new company and the "old" Nokia so much that we could speak of an entity formally distinct, but essentially very close to the Finnish home.

As for the timing of arrival on the market of new products created by the new trilateral pact between Nokia, HDM Global and FIH, the companies involved have not expressed. To complete the transition of the Microsoft feature phone division to FIH and HDM Global you will need to wait until the second half of 2016, while the prohibition on marketing Nokia-branded smartphone - resulting from the Agreements between Nokia and Microsoft - will end at the end of 2016.