This article is more than 1 year old
Nokia on phone return mutterings: They LIIED. We won't be BAAACK
Talk to the buried handset, the face don't give a damn
Nokia has dismissed claims that suggested the company was "currently" planning a big, splashy return to the smartphone business next year.
As of the second half of 2016, the Finnish firm will no longer be saddled to a deal it inked with Microsoft – which bought Nokia's devices and services unit in 2014.
However, Nokia attacked the scuttlebutt in a statement on its website on Sunday. The firm said:
Nokia notes recent news reports claiming the company communicated an intention to manufacture consumer handsets out of a R&D facility in China.
These reports are false, and include comments incorrectly attributed to a Nokia Networks executive.
Nokia reiterates it currently has no plans to manufacture or sell consumer handsets.
It had been rumoured that the Nokia Technologies wing of the biz had quietly hired staff, while products were allegedly already under development.
But it's worth noting the use of the word "currently" in Nokia's statement: which means that it may, in the future, return to making handsets. Just not yet, apparently ... ®
Biting the hand that feeds IT
