At MWC 2018 this week, HMD Global unveiled the Nokia 8 Sirocco and the Nokia 8110. If you were hoping to get your hands on either device, prepare to be disappointed because according to an interview with CNET, HMD’s CEO and President Florian Seiche confirmed that Nokia phones will not be coming to the US this year.According to Seiche, “Otherwise I would have mentioned it. It’s not a core focus for this year, but certainly it is on our road map.” He also added that there are plans to make Nokia one of the leading smartphone makers again in the next few years. “Our ambition is to become again one of the leading players, which means, top five or better in the next three to five years.”
It is interesting that HMD is choosing to ignore the US market, especially when we’re seeing many other companies, such as various Chinese OEMs, trying to make their way into the US market. However it seems that HMD could be relying on emerging markets to help gain more market share, as it was recently confirmed that future Nokia phones will be Android One handsets, which are a series of Android phones designed for such markets.
Whether or not this strategy will allow HMD to succeed remains to be seen, but in the meantime Nokia fans in the US will most likely have to turn to grey market imports if they want new Nokia handsets.
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