Nokia Corporation (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈnɔkiɑ]) (OMX: NOK1V, NYSE: NOK, FWB: NOA3) is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki. Nokia is engaged in the manufacturing of mobile devices and in converging Internet and communications industries, with 128,445 employees in 120 countries, sales in more than 150 countries and global annual revenue of EUR 50.7 billion and operating profit of 5.0 billion as of 2008. It is the world's largest manufacturer of mobile telephones: its global device market share was about 38% in Q3 2009, at the same level as in Q3 2008 and in Q2 2009. Nokia produces mobile devices for every major market segment and protocol, including GSM, CDMA, and W-CDMA (UMTS). Nokia offers Internet services that enable people to experience music, maps, media, messaging and games. Nokia's subsidiary Nokia Siemens Networks produces telecommunications network equipment, solutions and services. The company is also engaged in providing digital map information through its wholly-owned subsidiary Navteq.
Nokia has sites for research and development, manufacture and sales in many countries throughout the world. As of December 2008, Nokia had R&D presence in 16 countries and employed 39,350 people in research and development, representing approximately 31% of the group's total workforce. The Nokia Research Center, founded in 1986, is Nokia's industrial research unit consisting of about 500 researchers, engineers and scientists. It has sites in seven countries: Finland, China, India, Kenya, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Besides its research centers, in 2001 Nokia founded (and owns) INdT – Nokia Institute of Technology, a R&D institute located in Brazil. Nokia operates a total of 15 manufacturing facilities located at Espoo, Oulu and Salo, Finland; Manaus, Brazil; Beijing, Dongguan and Suzhou, China; Farnborough, England; Komárom, Hungary; Chennai, India; Reynosa, Mexico; Jucu, Romania and Masan, South Korea. Nokia's Design Department remains in Salo, Finland.
Nokia is a public limited liability company listed on the Helsinki, Frankfurt, and New York stock exchanges. Nokia plays a very large role in the economy of Finland; it is by far the largest Finnish company, accounting for about a third of the market capitalization of the Helsinki Stock Exchange (OMX Helsinki) as of 2007, a unique situation for an industrialized country. It is an important employer in Finland and several small companies have grown into large ones as its partners and subcontractors. Nokia increased Finland's GDP by more than 1.5% in 1999 alone. In 2004 Nokia's share of the Finnish GDP was 3.5% and accounted for almost a quarter of Finland's exports in 2003.
Finns have consistently ranked Nokia as both the best Finnish brand and the best employer. The Nokia brand, valued at $34.9 billion, is listed as the fifth most valuable global brand in the Interbrand/BusinessWeek Best Global Brands list of 2009 (first non-US company). It is the number one brand in Asia (as of 2007)and Europe (as of 2008), the 42nd most admirable company worldwide in Fortune's World's Most Admired Companies list of 2009 (third in Network Communications, seventh non-US company), and the world's 85th largest company as measured by revenue in Fortune Global 500 list of 2009, up from 88th the previous year. As of 2009, AMR Research ranks Nokia's global supply chain number six in the world.
Milestones and releases
Nokia opened its Komárom, Hungary mobile phone factory on May 5, 2000.
In March 2007, Nokia signed a memorandum with Cluj County Council, Romania to open a new plant near the city in Jucu commune. Moving the production from the Bochum, Germany factory to a low wage country created an uproar in Germany.
In May 2007, Nokia announced that its Nokia 1100 handset, launched in 2003, with over 200 million units shipped, was the best-selling mobile phone of all time and the world's top-selling consumer electronics product.
In November 2007, Nokia announced and released the Nokia N82, its first (and currently, only) Nseries phone with Xenon flash.
At the Nokia World conference in December 2007, Nokia announced their "Comes With Music" program: Nokia device buyers are to receive a year of complimentary access to music downloads. The service became commercially available in the second half of 2008.
In April 2008, Nokia began finding new ways to connect people, asking the "audience" to use their creativity and their mobile devices to become Nokia’s production company – to take part in filming, acting, editing and producing a collaborative film. Nokia Productions was the first ever mobile filmmaking project directed by Spike Lee. This was a collaborative experience that existed across borders and perspectives, working off a common script. The film premiered in October 2008.
In 2008, Nokia released the Nokia E71 which was marketed to directly compete with the other BlackBerry devices offering a full keyboard and cheaper prices.
Nokia announced in August 2009 that they will be selling a high-end Windows-based mini laptop called the Nokia Booklet 3G.
On September 2, 2009, Nokia launched two new music and social networking phones, the X6 and X3. The Nokia X6 features 32GB of on-board memory with a 3.2" finger touch interface and comes with a music playback time of 35 hours. The Nokia X3 is a first series 40 Ovi Store-enabled device. The X3 is a music device that comes with stereo speakers, built-in FM radio, and a 3.2 megapixel camera.
On September 10, 2009, Nokia unveiled a new handset 7705 Twist, a phone with a sports square shape that swivels open to reveal a full QWERTY keypad. The new mobile, which will be available exclusively through Verizon Wireless, features a 3 megapixel camera, web browsing, voice commands and weighs around 3.44 ounces.
