Most people associate the Nokia brand with mobile phones, and mobile phones only, although the Finnish company is involved in many other things. Currently it has three divisions (since the sale of their mobile handset division to Microsoft): Mobile Solutions, HERE, and Technologies. Which one will reveal a new product on the 18th of November? We don’t know yet – but in a day we will find out.
Citing a tweet published by Nokia, Tech Crunch reports that the Finnish manufacturer is up to something – it will reveal a new product, a mysterious black box shaped like a Mac Mini with a Nokia logo on top.
@nokia Guess what? We’re up to something. http://nokia.ly/1xOSNEb #thinkingahead#Slush14
There is no word about what the new product will be, there are only some speculations going on about its function. Could it be a streaming set top box, or a new wireless router, or maybe a mini PC? Most consider the first to be a more likely answer – speculation on Twitter says Nokia prepares to launch its own TV set top box solution running Android TV, similar to Google’s own Nexus Player. It could be something different altogether – Nokia has discussed licensing their brand to third party manufacturers, allowing them to launch hardware devices under the Nokia brand. The company also has the intention to develop and prototype its own hardware.
Nokia was – and still is – best known for the public by its line of mobile devices. Due to a series of bad decisions made in the past the company missed out on the mobile phone boom of the last few years, being overtaken by most of its competitors. It has sold its mobile phone division to Microsoft in 2013 – the deal does not allow the company to put its brand on a mobile phone until 2016, so the black box in the teaser is surely not a phone. But what is it, then? Well, we’re going to find out in a day. Sebastian Nyström, Head of Product Business at Nokia Technologies will make the announcement tomorrow at Slush 2014, a meeting for Eurasian startups that will start on the 18th of November in Helsinki.