HMD is expected to release at least five Nokia-branded smartphones by Q3 2017

Wondering exactly how “wide” of an Android smartphone portfolio Finnish startup HMD Global Oy might have planned for Nokia’s highly anticipated 2017 market comeback?

Hit-and-miss anonymous “industry sources” routinely quoted by Taiwanese publication Digitimes today claim “four new models” are on schedule for Q2 and Q3 launches next year, not counting the road-opening D1C, or DIC, that’s supposedly breaking cover at the Mobile World Congress in February in “two versions.”

It’s unclear if those four somewhat distant “models” will be four distinct phones or perhaps just two main devices, each available in a couple of configurations separated merely by their RAM and ROM attributes.

But these sometimes accurate, sometimes not insiders expect screen sizes to range from 5 to 5.7 inches, with either Full or Quad HD resolution in tow, panels supplied by LG, CTC and Innolux, and of course, FIH Mobile, aka Foxconn, a very important “production partner.”

As for the Nokia-branded, HMD-distributed D1C, current predictions paint an overall mid-range picture, 2 and 3GB RAM, 5 and 5.5-inch Full HD display, $150 and $200 prices forecasted for two MWC-headed variants. Interested or disappointed?

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Pricing for two Nokia D1C variants tipped

The D1C is one of several rumored smartphones that will come under the manufacturing banner of HMD Global. It’s been the phone that’s been trailing the lead up to the revelation that Nokia was returning to the mobile market with Android products.

After many imaginative iterations of the D1C, we seem to have finally come to two variants, two sizes and two memory configurations. Both versions come with Android Nougat and a mid-to-low-end Snapdragon 430 processor.

So, how much would one pay to get these phones? Anywhere near $150 for a D1C with 2GB of RAM and $200 for one with 3GB of RAM. That’s the word from a less familiar source to Nokiapoweruser. In India, those amounts round to about the Rs. 9,999 and Rs. 12,999 marks.

Given the hardware load we’re dealing with here, we wouldn’t be surprised with those prices, but we’ll have to wait and see once the D1C finally comes around.

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HMD Global formally ‘enters the market’ to launch Nokia-branded smartphones in H1 2017

In case you still held out hope for a last-minute 2016 release or at least announcement of Nokia’s smartphone comeback effort, HMD Global Oy just crushed your dreams, clarifying a few things, and reiterating others that were known since May.

The “proud exclusive licensor of the Nokia brand in mobile phones and tablets” will open a “new and exciting chapter in the story” of the Finnish company that once ruled the mobile hardware world during the first half of 2017.

Technically, Nokia surrendered all branding and intellectual property rights to this HMD startup, only indirectly working on the development of those oft-rumored D1C prototypes. But take just one look at the market rookie’s “leadership team”, and you can safely anticipate a continuation of the classic Nokia heritage and DNA.

The CEO, President, Chief Finance and Commercial Officer, CMO, Chief Product Officer, COO, General Counsel and VP of Human Resources all have years of experience guiding Nokia’s business, product creation and management through thick and thin, rise and fall, Microsoft ownership, transition and survival.

Some of HMD Global’s leaders have also served at HTC and even Rovio, with key regional executives mainly coming from Nokia, Microsoft and HTC backgrounds as well. Bottom line, HMD is hardly a humble industry novice, and with Foxconn and Google in its corner, it understandably aims for greatness off the bat, “developing an exciting new consumer centric product range which will focus on innovation, quality and experience, alongside the iconic Nokia mobile phone attributes of design, robustness, and reliability.”

Hype level – over 9,000!

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Nokia D1C smartphone now tipped to come in two variants with up to 5.5-inch screen, 3GB RAM

Wait, so the so-called “D1C” prototype making the rumor rounds ahead of Nokia’s highly anticipated smartphone comeback next year isn’t a gargantuan tablet after all? Well, it might be a few things, possibly designating a whole HMD-coordinated device roster, also including a 5/5.5-inch mid-range Android handheld duo.

According to “reliable sources” quoted by a hit-and-miss Nokia blog, the two D1C phone configurations will differ in screen size, RAM count and rear-facing camera megapixel tally. Specifically, these unnamed insiders believe, the entry-level 5-inch variant should feature 2 gigs of memory and a 13MP main shooter, with the slightly beefier 5.5-incher upping the ante to 3GB and 16MP respectively.

Both Nokia D1C smartphones are additionally predicted to offer Snapdragon 430 processing power, 8MP selfie cams, 16GB internal storage (expandable via microSD, we presume), and pre-installed Android 7.0 Nougat.

That’s not exactly Q2 2017 flagship material, but perhaps Nokia, HDM Global and FIH Mobile, aka Foxconn, have something else in the pipeline to rival the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S8 at MWC in late February.

Of course, we still don’t know how any of the D1C versions look in real life, with a number of sketchy renders floating around mostly for illustration purposes when it comes to speculative reports like this one.

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Nokia officially ‘looks forward’ to a 2017 ‘brand return to smartphones’

With the holiday shopping season effectively underway, an onslaught of interesting recent high and low-end smartphone announcements from all over the world, and a troubling industry stagnation trend, we kinda-sorta already figured Nokia’s comeback would be adjourned until next year.

Of course, the sleeping Finnish tech giant (or whatever’s left of a former corporate behemoth) has been sending more mixed signals than a shy but lustful teenager in the past few months, so it’s nice to finally put speculation to rest.

For the time being, that is, because Nokia has merely confirmed its “brand’s return to smartphones” will happen in 2017, alongside “expanded VR leadership”, “Digital Health brand transition”, and “patent licensing expansion in mobile, automotive and consumer electronics.”

There’s still no specific, official timeline to share, no device names, feature lists or even a ballpark figure of models in the pipeline. One? Two? More? Just high-enders or mid-rangers too? How about our assumption that the company’s CEO is headed for Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress in February to at least tease a new Nokia-labeled, HMD-made phone?

All shall be revealed in due time, including the fate of that oft-rumored jumbo-sized “D1C” tablet, which Nokia doesn’t appear to acknowledge in any way as part of its latest business outlook.

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This is the season Nokia will “rise again” with smartphones, tablets

A senior executive of Nokia has reaffirmed that the company will be heading back into the smartphone industry this quarter.

Mike Wang, President of Nokia Networks in China, told The Paper that phones and tablets are on the schedule. The company has invested $350 million in setting up the infrastructure to sell smartphones through manufacturer Foxconn and brand licensee HMD Global Oy — headed by some Nokia veterans, though not directly managed by the company.

The Finland-based tech giant sold its hardware and services division to Microsoft in 2014 and agreed to not compete in the smartphone market for the following two years. In the meantime, Nokia focused on telecommunications, VR, connected health and, primarily, intellectual property licensing. Acquisitions of Alcatel-Lucent and wearable tech manufacturer Withings have taken place in the intervening years.

The most recent quarter saw an 11 percent annual decline in enterprise sales, though, so the jump back into smartphones through a licensee should support revenues with reduced outlays.

There are supposedly three Android Nougat devices on the docket — a large tablet and two high-end smartphones with Snapdragon 820 chipsets and quad HD screens.

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Nokia CEO headed to MWC 2017 as keynote speaker, possibly to announce new phones

Haven’t we waited long enough for Nokia’s first ever high-end Android smartphones, its first non-Microsoft-coordinated handheld release in over two years, and also the first to be managed by newborn licensee HMD global, with actual manufacturing help from Foxconn?Apparently not, as it’s looking less and less ...

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You know that looming Nokia D1C ‘smartphone’? It’s actually a 13.8-inch tablet

While it’s no longer a big secret the first Nokia-branded smartphones in around two years are definitely coming soon, that D1C prototype recently making the customary pre-release benchmarking rounds is probably not it.Geekbench and AnTuTu already ...

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AnTuTu log of Nokia D1C reveals just a few more specs

An AnTuTu synthetic benchmark log has affirmed the existence of a Nokia device, codenamed D1C, running on Android Nougat. It was painted to be on the lower side of the mid-range in terms of specifications, though we have a couple of new spec lines now, thanks to this new information.To recap what we learned from Geekbench runs, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 apparently runs on this thing, backed by 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. What’s new is that we’re seeing a full HD screen and two cameras — ...

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Nokia D1C found on Geekbench with Snapdragon 430, 3GB of RAM

One of Nokia’s first Android smartphones that will sell sometime around the end of this year may have mid-ranger specs and Android Nougat on board.Geekbench has several entries in its database for the “Nokia D1C,” which many suspect to be one of the devices being manufactured by brand ...

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