The move comes from Nokia Technologies, one of the divisions left behind after Nokia sold its handset business to Microsoft last year. The division own and handles patents from more than 10,000 devices and licensing. It has no plans of recreating the division it sold to Microsoft but Re/code says, Nokia will instead look onto the design and let partners handle the manufacturing, sales, and distribution. Nokia for now is binded not to sell any phone under its brand name or to license any brand for use in phone until next year until under the terms of its contract with Microsoft. While very less is known about the upcoming smartphone which it is planning, citing its Android-based N1 tablet and an Android platform “Zlauncher”, the upcoming may be an Android affair. Nokia has recently acquired Alcatel-Lucent for $16.5 billion to to cater to the mobile equipment market. The combination of the two firms is called Nokia Corporation. Reports also indicate that Nokia is eyeing a possible suitor for its Here mapping business. Nokia “has initiated a review of strategic options, including a potential divestment, for its Here business,” the firm said last week in a statement. Here maps has one of the best maps for Europe, India and other places where Nokia was extremely popular in its hey days as the lord of mobile phones.
