Some things, once deeply woven into the fabric of our lives, can fade into almost complete irrelevance. Time is a relentless current, changing the landscape, reshaping people, and altering the very colors of our familiar world. Those who cannot adapt to its flow risk being eroded, slowly but surely, until they become mere whispers of the past. The failure to make the right decision at the right time is a wound that no amount of effort can mend later.
This is the story of a brand that once connected millions, a name that evokes a powerful sense of nostalgia: Nokia.
The Finnish company’s journey in telecommunications began in the 1960s, but it was in the 1990s that it truly began to conquer the world. In 1994, the launch of the Nokia 2100 series gave us more than just a mobile phone; it gave us the iconic “Gran Vals” ringtone, a melody that would become the most recognizable in history. This series alone sold an astonishing 20 million units. By 1998, Nokia had ascended to the throne as the world’s leading mobile manufacturer. The numbers spoke for themselves: between 1996 and 2001, Nokia’s profits skyrocketed from €6.5 billion to €31 billion.
Even as the new millennium dawned and the smartphone era began to stir, Nokia’s dominance seemed unshakeable. As late as 2010, the company held a commanding 33.1% of the smartphone market, selling over 100 million units. To put this in perspective, Apple had sold 47.5 million iPhones, and Samsung a mere 23 million smartphones.
Nokia’s reign was built on a foundation of legendary products:
The Nokia 1100 (2003): With over 250 million units sold, this device is not just a phone; it is the best-selling mobile handset in history, a testament to Nokia’s commitment to durability, simplicity, and accessibility.
The Nokia 1110: Following closely behind its sibling, this model sold 248 million units.
The “Snake” Game (1997): Beyond the hardware, Nokia gave us a cultural phenomenon. The simple, addictive game of Snake was pre-installed on over 350 million devices, becoming a universal pastime for an entire generation.
However, beneath this towering success, the seeds of decline were being sown. Nokia, the master of the physical keypad and the simple user interface, was fatally slow to embrace the two revolutions that would redefine the mobile industry: the touchscreen and the Android operating system. As Apple’s sleek, intuitive iPhone and Google’s versatile Android ecosystem began to capture the public’s imagination, Nokia clung to its own Symbian OS, which felt increasingly clunky and outdated.
The fatal blow came in 2011. In a desperate attempt to catch up, Nokia announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft, choosing the fledgling Windows Phone as its exclusive smartphone platform. It was a gamble that failed spectacularly. The market, already enamored with the vast app ecosystems of iOS and Android, almost completely rejected the Windows Phone.
The downfall was swift and brutal. In 2013, Microsoft acquired Nokia’s mobile phone division for a staggering $7.17 billion. For Nokia, it was the end of an era. The company’s stock price, which had once soared to over $40, plummeted to just $2.
Today, the state of Nokia smartphones is a shadow of its former self. While the brand still exists in the smartphone market, licensed by HMD Global, it is no longer counted among the top ten manufacturers. A recent change to Nokia’s iconic logo after 60 years sparked a flicker of hope for a dramatic comeback. Many loyalists believed it signaled a renewed vigor. Yet, for anyone with even a passing knowledge of the current smartphone landscape, recommending a Nokia phone today is a difficult proposition.
And what of that glorious past? Technically, it seems impossible for Nokia to ever reclaim its former glory. The market has moved on, and the giants of today are too entrenched.
For the millions who hold cherished memories of their first mobile phone, the name “Nokia” is now tinged with a sense of disappointment. Stripped of its past glory and offering little in the way of groundbreaking innovation, the brand has become a relic. Yet, every time one of its older phones is powered on, a familiar greeting appears, a poignant reminder of what was lost: “Nokia – Connecting People.”
