Nokia has denied reports it plans to re-enter the mobile phone market, insisting it has no plans to manufacture consumer handsets at this time.
In a brief statement, Nokia refuted reports claiming that the company plans to manufacture consumer handsets from a Chinese R&D facility.
“These reports are false, and include comments incorrectly attributed to a Nokia Networks executive,” the statement reads. “Nokia reiterates it currently has no plans to manufacture or sell consumer handsets.”
Reports circulated last week claiming that Nokia plans to license mobile phone designs to Foxconn and other Asian manufacturing facilities.
But Forbesspeculates that Nokia's denial could be based on legal manoeuvring, and the company may still have similar plans.
Nokia's sale agreement with Microsoft precludes the company from re-entering the handset market directly until 2016, but the deal probably does not preclude Nokia licensing smartphone designs to other manufacturers. Nokia's N1 tablet is one such device.
But Nokia may still want to ensure it is legally in the clear before entering any other licensing deals, making explicit that it does not plan to directly manufacture and sell devices at this time, Forbes said.