Short Nokia history told by Nokia Maps

Well, I thought I'd make use of the Nokia Maps 3D once again, because I really enjoyed it the first time around back when it was branded Ovi Maps.

This time I thought I'd share a little Nokia history, seen trough the Nokia Maps 3D.

In 1865 a mining engineer called Fredrik Idestam established groundwood pulp mill in the town of Tampere, Finland, and started manufacturing paper.


Tampere, Finland

In 1868 Idestam built another mill near the town Nokia, 15km west of Tampere, by the Nokianvirta river. In 1871, with the help of his good friend Leo Mechelin, Idestam renamed and transformed his firm into a share company known since then as Nokia Company.


Nokia, Finland

The company went through a series of transformations that included manufacturing of rubber boots, galoshes, electronics business, tires and footwear.

In 1970 Nokia became more involved in telecommunications, and the production of network equipment was separated into a company called Telefenno, jointly owned by Nokia and by another company owned by the Finnish state. In 1987, the state sold all shares to Nokia, and in 1992 the name of the company was changed to Nokia Telecommunications.

In 1992 the first GSM phone was launched by Nokia, the 1011. The model was named after it's launch date November 10th.

Nokia eventually build new headquarters in the town of Espoo, Finland near Helsinki, known as the Nokia House.


Nokia House, Espoo, Finland

Since February 2011, Nokia announced a partnership with Microsoft and the new Nokia CEO Stephen Elop started to think about moving people to Silicon Valley. A natural move for the world's biggest phone manufacturer. So the new USA Nokia headquarters are located in Sunnyvale, CA, USA.


Nokia, Sunnyvale, CA, USA

The company also have a research center in Palo Alto, CA, USA and another one near the Berkeley University.


Nokia Research Center, Palo Alto, CA, USA

Innovation is something Nokia clearly does not lack, so opening up new research centers in the heart of Silicon Valley can only be beneficial for the Finnish giant.

Almost 19 years passed since the launch of the Nokia 1011, and the Nokia N9 and it's WP7 brothers can breathe new life into the Finnish company, maybe just in time to celebrate 19 years from the launch of the first Nokia GSM phone. Wouldn't it be nice to have the SeaRay on November 10th 2011? It would mark a new beginning for Nokia.