HMD now owns 500 Nokia design patents, including one for the Lumia Camera UI

An interesting revelation comes today regarding Nokia, both old and new. About 500 design patents have been transferred from Microsoft Mobile to HMD Global. The former is the company that made the Microsoft and Nokia branded Windows handsets following the acquisition by Microsoft of Nokia's smartphone division many years ago. The latter is the company currently holding the exclusive license to use the Nokia name for smartphones. HMD Global has already launched the Nokia 3, 5, and 6, and will unveil the flagship Nokia 8 next month.

This top of the line offering may have something rather unexpected under its sleeve: the famous Lumia Camera UI, long hailed by many as one of the most intuitive in the business. This was created by 'old' Nokia for its Windows phones, and the design patent for that UI is one of the 500 transferred to HMD Global.

On the other hand, the trademarks for PureView, ClearBlack, and PureMotion are still registered to Microsoft. So don't expect any of those to show up in a Nokia smartphone in the near future. From the key co-brands of Nokias past for now we'll have to make do with seeing Zeiss on the Nokia 8. At the moment, Microsoft Mobile still has about 200 design patents and it's unclear whether some or all of those are to be transferred to HMD too.

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Gold-copper Nokia 8 pictured in the wild

The Nokia 8 leaks are piling up. The latest features a series of photos of a copper-gold unit working in the wild.

The images show the screen working, the fingerprint reader and two capacitive keys on the front as well as the dual camera and LED flash on the back. There's no Zeiss logo though so this may be a pre-production unit.

    
Nokia 8 in gold-copper

We've already seen the Nokia 8 in Blue and Steel and we've heard the gold/copper color mentioned too.

    
Nokia 8 in gold-copper

We expect the Nokia 8 to have a 5.3" 1440p display, a Snapdragon 835, Zeiss-branded dual camera (probably each a 13MP snapper) and a price range of around €550-€600.

Souce | Via

Entry-level Nokia 2 purportedly shown in leaked image

Earlier this month a leak filled us in regarding Nokia's chipset choices for its upcoming smartphones, including a then unheard of entry level Nokia 2 model. This was said to be the cheapest Nokia smartphone for 2017, boasting a Snapdragon 212. However, in the meantime a lot of other sources have contradicted the details of that leak, when it comes to the high-end echelons of the Nokia lineup. So you may want to take the information about the Nokia 2 with a pinch of salt too.

Or maybe not, since today a new leak out of China claims to show us the design of the upcoming Nokia 2, alongside a rough drawing of the Nokia 3 for comparison. The source of this leak corroborates the fact that the Snapdragon 212 SoC will be used in this cheap handset, but also mentions the very similar SD210 as a possibility for the Nokia 2.

As you can see, there's no fingerprint scanner on the front - and there surely isn't one on the back, since the Nokia 3 doesn't have one either, and the 2 should be even more affordable. Interestingly, Nokia will choose to use software-rendered Android buttons in the entry-level model, even though none of its currently announced handsets have such an arrangement.

The screen size looks to be the same 5" as it is for the Nokia 3. The overall shape of the Nokia 2 is more rounded however, and the person who outed the image says it will resemble the Lumia 620 from years past. That's all the information we have for now, and even all this is just a rumor at this point, don't forget that.

Source (in Chinese) | Via

Nokia 8 appears on official website ahead of possible announcement tomorrow

We've already seen the Nokia 8 in not one, but two sets of leaked press renders, and its specs have been outed too. So at this point all that's left for HMD Global to do is make it official already. And that could happen sooner than you may think.

Today Nokia's Chinese website put up a promotional image for the yet-unannounced smartphone, as evidenced by the screengrab you can see below. We assume this was a mistake by the webmaster, since HMD still hasn't unveiled the Nokia 8.

Yet it's possible that the handset will actually become official tomorrow, if we go by the date shown on the phone's lock screen. Portrayed in the official image is the same blue color version we've seen already, with a black front (perhaps meant to mask those big top and bottom bezels somewhat).

The Nokia 8 should come with a 5.3-inch QHD touchscreen, and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset at the helm. Its dual rear cameras will be Zeiss branded, each having 13 MP resolution. Depending on which exact model you buy, you'll get either 4 or 6GB of RAM, and the handset will run Android 7.1.1 Nougat. As for pricing, an unlocked unit will cost around €550-600 according to past rumors. 

Source (in Chinese) | Via

Arto Nummela steps down as HMD CEO, effective immediately

Current CEO of HMD Global Arto Nummela is leaving his position with immediate effect, the company surprisingly announced in a press release. He is parting ways with the board of directors and will be replaced with Florian Seiche, president and co-leader since HMD’s beginning.

The exit comes as a shock, especially the company is just starting to deliver its products to global markets. HMD is also preparing to launch its first proper flagship - Nokia 8, which has frequented the rumor mill.

Sam Chin, chairman of HMD Global’s board, commented that the Finn has played a key role in the creation of the company and thanked him for his contribution. We are yet to see any comments on what caused the leadership change.

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