History of Nokia
is a Finnish multinational corporation founded on 12 May 1865 as a single paper mill operation. Through the 19th century the company expanded, branching into several different products. In 1967, the Nokia corporation was formed. In the late 20th century, the company took advantage of the increasing popularity of computer and mobile phones. However, increased competition and other market forces caused changes in Nokia's business arrangements. In 2014, Nokia's mobile phone business was sold to Microsoft.
19th century
The name "Nokia" is derived from the town of Nokia, Finland and the nearby Nokianvirta River, which was located next to the company’s original factory. The commercial entities that preceded the modern-day Nokia company included Nokia Ab ; Suomen Gummitehdas Oy ; and Suomen Kaapelitehdas Oy.In 1865, the mining engineer, Fredrik Idestam established a ground wood pulp mill on the banks of the Tammerkoski rapids in the town of Tampere, in southwestern Finland. Tampere was then part of the Russian Empire. In 1868, Idestam built a second mill near the town of Nokia. Nokia lies west of Tampere, by the Nokianvirta river. The river had better hydropower resources than those at Tampere. In 1871, Idestam and Leo Mechelin, a statesman and Idestam's friend, transformed Idestam's enterprises into a public limited company called Nokia Ab.
In the late 1800s, Mechelin wanted to expand the company into the electricity business. However, Idestam refused. In 1896, Idestam retired and Mechelin became the company's chairman. He remained chairman from 1898 to 1914. During this time, Mechelin persuaded shareholders to allow the company to enter the electricity business. In 1902, Nokia commenced electricity generation.
20th century
, was a Finnish business leader. In 1898, Polón founded Suomen Gummitehdas Oy - a manufacturer of galoshes and other rubber products. In the early 1900s, the Finnish Rubber Works established factories near Nokia and used the town's name in the company's branding.After World War I, the Nokia Company was nearing bankruptcy and was acquired by the Finnish Rubber Works.
In 1932, the Finnish Rubber Works also acquired the Suomen Kaapelitehdas Oy. The cable works had been founded in 1912 by Arvid Wickström. His company produced telephone, telegraph, and electrical cables.
In 1963, after 16 years as a technical director, Verner Weckman became the president of the Finnish Cable Works company. Weckman was a wrestler and was Finland's first Olympic Gold medallist. After World War II, Finnish Cable Works supplied cables to the Soviet Union as part of its war reparations. This gave the company a foothold for later trade.
Nokia Corporation
In 1967, Nokia Corporation was formed through the merger of the three companies. The new company manufactured products including paper items, car and bicycle tires, rubber boots, communications cables, televisions and other consumer electronics, personal computers, generators, robotics, capacitors, Military technology and equipment, plastics, aluminum and chemicals.In 1960, a cable division of the Nokia group had been formed. In 1962, it produced a pulse height analyzer used in nuclear power plants. In 1967, an electronics division within the Nokia Corporation was formed. It operated for the next fifteen years, sometimes at a loss. Nokia researchers were encouraged to develop their own projects. This may have contributed to Nokia's focus on mobile phone technologies.
Network equipment
In the 1970s, Nokia produced the Nokia DX 200, a digital switch for telephone exchanges. The DX 200 became the workhorse of the network equipment division. Its architecture allowed it to be further developed into other switching products. For example, in 1984, the development of an exchange for the Nordic Mobile Telephone network was begun. The network equipment division was merged with a Finnish State entity to form "Telefenno". In 1987, the state sold its shares in Telefenno to Nokia and in 1992, the name was changed to Nokia Telecommunications.In 1998, the Israeli multinational company, Check Point which was founded in 1993, established a partnership with Nokia. Check Point's software was bundled with Nokia's network security tools.
Mobile radio telephony
Prior to cellular mobile telephony, there was mobile radio telephony. In the 1960s, Nokia had started producing commercial and military mobile radio telephones. From 1964, Nokia had developed VHF radios in collaboration with Salora Oy. From 1966, Nokia and Salora had developed ARPs. In 1971, this technology became the first commercially available mobile phone network in Finland and in 1978, it offered 100 percent coverage in Finland. In the 1970s and 1980s, Nokia developed the Sanomalaitejärjestelmä, a digital, portable and encrypted text-based communications device for the Finnish Defence Forces.Nokia mobile telephone (1G)
In 1979, Nokia and Salora established a joint venture, "Mobira Oy". Mobira developed mobile phones for the Nordic Mobile Telephone network, called the "1G" and was the first fully automatic cellular phone system. It became commercially available in 1981. In 1982, Mobira introduced its first car phone, the "Mobira Senator" for NMT 450 networks.In 1984, Nokia purchased Salora. Nokia's telecommunications division was renamed "Nokia-Mobira Oy". In the same year, the "Mobira Talkman", an early portable phone was launched. In 1987, Nokia introduced its first mobile phone, the "Mobira Cityman 900" for NMT 900 networks. In comparison to the NMT 450 network, there was a better signal strength but less coverage. While the Mobira Senator of 1982 had weighed and the Talkman just under, the Mobira Cityman weighed only including its battery. The phone, which was considered expensive, became an item indicating a high status.
In 1987, the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev was seen using a Mobira Cityman in Helsinki. The phone developed the nickname, the "Gorba". In 1989, Nokia-Mobira Oy was renamed "Nokia Mobile Phones".
Global system for mobile communications (2G)
Nokia contributed to the development of the GSM 2G. It was able to carry data as well as voice traffic. Nordic Mobile Telephony was an early provider of international roaming. In 1987, GSM 2G became the new European standard for digital mobile technology.In 1989, Nokia delivered its first GSM network to the Finnish operator Radiolinja. On 1 July 1991, in Helsinki, the first telephone call on the GSM G2 network was made by Harri Holkeri, the Prime Minister of Finland. He used a prototype Nokia GSM phone to make the call. In 1992, the first GSM phone, the Nokia 1011, was made commercially available. The model number, "1011" refers to its launch date on 10 November 1992. In 1994, a branding ringtone, the Nokia tune, was included with the Nokia 2100 series.
The GSM 2G network and mobile phones provided improved voice calls, international roaming and support for new services such as text messaging. In 2008, the GSM 2G network had approximately 3 billion users. There were at least 700 mobile phone commercial providers in 218 nations or territories. There were 15 mobile phone connections per second and 1.3 million mobile phone connections per day.
Personal computers
In the 1980s, Nokia's computer division "Nokia Data" produced a series of personal computers called the "MikroMikko". It was aimed at the business market. MikroMikko 1, was released on 29 September 1981. Its competitor was the IBM personal computer. In 1991, Nokia Data was sold to a British company, International Computers Limited.Nokia produced Cathode ray tubes and thin film transistor liquid crystal displays for personal computers and other applications. In 2000, Nokia sold its display products division to ViewSonic. However, in August 2009, Nokia released the Nokia Booklet 3G mini laptop which it continued for a short time. Other abandoned Nokia products include DSL modems and digital set-top boxes.
Telecommunications
In the 1980s under the chief executive officer Kari Kairamo, Nokia expanded, mostly through acquisitions. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, however, Nokia corporation experienced financial difficulties. Losses were made in the television manufacturing division. In 1988, Nokian Tyres became a separate entity. Nokia's paper division was sold in 1989. In 1990, Nokian Footwear was a separate entity. During the rest of the 1990s, Nokia divested itself of all other businesses.In 1988, Kairamo committed suicide. Following his death, Simo Vuorilehto became Nokia's chairman and CEO. From 1990 to 1993, Finland was in recession. Vuorilehto made major changes to the Nokia corporation. The telecommunications division was stream-lined. The television and personal computing divisions were sold.
In 1992, Jorma Ollila became CEO. He made telecommunications Nokia's sole concern. International sales increased relative to those in Finland. By the mid-1990s, Nokia's supply of mobile telephones could not meet demand. Changes to Nokia's supply chain were made. Between 1996 and 2001, Nokia's revenue increased from 6.5 billion euros to 31 billion euros and between 1998 and 2012, Nokia was the world's largest mobile phone manufacturer. Nokia's logistics and economies of scale advantaged the company.
21st century
In 2000, Nokia launched the Nokia 3310. In 2003, the Nokia 1100 handset was launched. Nokia combined a video game console and a mobile phone in the "N-Gage", although this product was not so successful. Nokia's late entry in the growing market of clamshell phones had been cited as a reason for the company losing market share in 2004.In April 2008, Nokia Productions started a mobile movie-making project. The movie which was presented at the Nokia Theater Los Angeles on 14 October 2008 was directed by Spike Lee. It was approximately 15 minutes long and comprised short segments made on phones contributed by the public. The theme of the movie was "humanity".
In 2008 Nokia entered the smartphone market with their Nokia 5800 XpressMusic model. In 2009, Nokia reentered the personal computing market. Its product, the Nokia Booklet 3G was a Windows-based netbook. The Series 40 was a phone platform used in feature phones, mainly running Java-based applications.
Nokia acquired Smarterphone, a company making the Smarterphone OS for "low end" phones and merged it with Series 40 to form the Asha Platform, which also used some user interface characteristics from Nokia's MeeGo platform. The Asha 501 used this new operating system. The Series 40 was discontinued in late 2014.