Life After Death: The Resurgence of Nokia

Everyone loves a comeback story. We watch movies about it and read books about it. As a society we root for the person that was once high, hits rock bottom, and then reinvents themselves. There are nuances to the arrogance causing a fall, the harsh reality of realization of the fall, and the perspective to rise from it. This process applies to people as well as companies. And when I think about a comeback story in tech in recent years, the name Nokia definitely comes to mind.

The Good Old Days

When I was a teenager living in the Middle East in the early 2000’s, Nokia was everywhere. The company was the default option in the pre-smartphone era much like the iPhone is for many Americans today. The number of iconic devices that the company released in that era was staggering. Of course, the Nokia 3310 achieved the legendary status as being indestructible. But devices such as the Nokia 6600, N95, and 5800 XpressMusic were devices that sold incredibly well and were statements of the Finnish design that the company became famous for. There was a time when Nokia dominated over 50% of the phone market in 2007. This coincided with the launch of the iPhone.