Nokia's comeback: Biggest flop of 2017?

It's pretty well known that Nokia will be back this year at Mobile World Congress, launching new devices three years since it was last seen with those neon-coloured Lumia Windows mobiles. The terms of their deal with Microsoft meant they weren’t allowed to sell their own phones under their brand for five years – and that’s now over. So, the comeback is imminent.

In many ways it’s quite cool to hear Nokia’s name back in the ring, but I’m not sure if it’s more nostalgia or a feeling that this is going to be a revived and rejuvenated brand ready to take on the kings of the smartphone world. In a way they’ve got nothing to lose, but at the same time they’ve only got one shot to get this right. It’s like they’ve joined the poker table and were able to take their own cards for this round. They'd be stupid not to come with a Royal Flush.

But which route should they take? Nokia have never really been known in the smartphone game. When they adopted one of the (at the time) three main OS’s they picked the stinker with Windows, and before that they stuck to their Symbian core roots to try and do their own thing. Their last major hit was 2007’s Nokia N95, and a lot happens in a decade with phones. But excluding Windows & Lumia it's as 'smartphone' as they got. Nokia became kings of the phone world with the basic (or feature) phones that flooded the emerging markets of the world to the point where they moved a billion units in 2009-10. So it will be curious to see if they start catering and focussing more on the emerging markets they know so well, or if they try and take on more affluent markets where Samsung and Apple dominate. All I know is that if they go middle of the road, they've already lost.

I would personally be a little upset if I saw Nokia not try and release something that will have the alarms going off in Seoul and Cupertino, but if they have something super niche that will see millions more people get connected with a decent android device at a really affordable price and 4G connectivity then I am all for that. What would be unforgivable is yet another $300 mid to high spec android device that the Chinese manufacturers such as Lenovo, Meizu and Xiaomi are cornering.

So, for me it’ll be the most exciting part of MWC to see what they unveil and the reception it gets. They should embrace this revival with a bit of risk, and should go all out. Whether this is something that completely shakes up the game at either end of the spectrum should see Nokia come back with a bang. If we see a handset that sits in the middle of the road, I think their comeback will not just be the biggest flop of MWC, but perhaps the real end of their time in the phone game.