nokia

Established in 1865, Nokia Corporation is the largest maker of mobile telephones in the international arena. This renowned mobile telephone manufacturer is based near the city of Helsinki, at Espoo, Finland. Nokia also manufactures telecommunications network equipment for ISDN, wireless LAN, broadband access, voice over IP and fixed-line/mobile voice telephony. This giant corporation has opened industrial research laboratories all over the world. These laboratories are responsible for the introduction of some of the most innovative mobile handsets in the market.

The Nokia Corporation has its origins in the merger of three companies. Nokia, as it is famous today, was originally established as a pulp mill by a Finish entrepreneur named Knut Fredrik Idestam. In 1865, he founded the Nokia wood mills, a pulp mill, on the banks of the Nokia rapids. In 1898, the Finish Rubber Works was set up nearby and began using "Nokia" as a brand name. The company eventually took over both the Nokia wood mills as well as a telephone and telegraph cable manufacturer, Finnish Cable Works. In 1967, these three companies merged together to form the Nokia Corporation. Following the merger, the electronics section of the cable division started developing telecommunications equipment on its own. In 1982, this corporation introduced a digital switch for telephone exchanges, known as the Nokia DX200. In 1992, Nokia started focusing on its telecommunications business and Nokia Telecommunications came into existence.

The Nokia 1011, the world’s first GSM handset, was introduced by Nokia in 1992. The Nokia tune featured for the first time on the 2100 model, in 1994. With the WAP facility offered on the Nokia 7110 in 1999, Internet access became possible for mobile users. Advanced multimedia features are now part and parcel with Nokia handsets, especially the popular N-series.