The tech world has changed a great deal since Nokia phones disappeared three years ago. Microsoft acquired the company’s handset line in 2014 and then it sold the brand. Enter Finnish company HMD in 2016, which is now “the home of Nokia phones”. After making waves at the annual Mobile World Congress in February 2017 with its announcement for the relaunch of the iconic 3310, HMD is making Nokia’s presence felt with three new phones. Ajey Mehta, vice-president India, HMD Global, tells t2 why his company will “script the next chapter of Nokia”.

Why should one buy the new Nokia phones that are being presented by HMD?

HMD is a Finnish start-up built on an asset-light model of partnerships. So our biggest partnership is with Nokia which has given us the rights to its brand for devices, tablets and some accessories. The second big partnership is with Google, with whom we have been in a lot of talks to leverage the pure Android platform. We are going with a clutter-free, pure Android platform on our phones. The third partnership is with Foxconn for engineering and manufacturing. Nokia has a strong brand name and we have seen some early successes with our launches in China. In China, we had launched the Nokia 6 and 74 per cent of the consumers who bought it are millennials. That is an extremely encouraging sign.

What are the strong points of the new Nokia phones?

We are basing our propositions on three pillars. First is design and quality. That’s more about the craftsmanship of the phone. We have had consumer immersion sessions in 10-15 countries, India being one of the most important of them. The second pillar is real-life experiences. Depending on the experience we want to deliver, we build phones. For example, on the Nokia 6 we have the Dolby Atmos speakers, we have a polarised screen for better visibility and so on.  If we are looking for sturdiness and endurance, all our phones are built from 6,000 series of aluminium plate.
Third is pure Android. So we are looking for going with the latest Android. As soon as there is an upgrade, our phones get updated. A very tiny proportion of the phones in the market are actually on Android Nougat and over 95 per cent of them are on previous Android versions.... Google has done a beta on Android O but they haven’t rolled it out for OEMs. So when they roll it out for OEMs, our devices will get that update.

How is Nokia fitting in after all these years?

We are scripting the next chapter of Nokia and as far as products are concerned, we will focus on these three pillars. We also believe that we are going to engage with technology that has a purpose. So every time we enhance a product from a tech standpoint, it has to deliver a certain experience to consumers. We will not have technology for technology’s sake. We are targeting millennial consumers who seek purpose in life. Our entire proposition is about presenting products with a purpose.

Where does India fit into the picture for HMD?

India is probably the most important markets for Nokia. Five-six years ago, this was one of the largest markets for Nokia and it remains priority one for HMD. We will script the next chapter of Nokia. And rest assured, Nokia will stand for the values of reliability, trust, transparency and distinctive design that it had delivered in the past. Rest assured, Nokia will focus on being a people’s brand.

Mathures Paul
Nokia to me means.... Tell t2@abp.in