A glance to the future of the mobile industry at Nokia

Our visit to the headquarters of Nokia in Keilalahti started at the futuristic Nokia Lounge, where we were presented with the latest in Nokia’s product offerings. In addition to the colorful new Lumia smartphones we tried out the new 301 and 105 mobile phones with maximum standby battery lives of over one month and some clever accessories for wireless charging and Bluetooth audio.

After the product introductions, Ukko Lappalainen (VP, Head of Business Development & Partnering) gave us a short introduction to the firm. This was followed by the host of our excursion, Mikko Muurinen and Benjamin Roszczewski (Managers of Strategy) presenting the key areas of Nokia’s corporate strategy. Many people associate Nokia only with mobile phones, but in reality thanks to Nokia’s wide R&D processes it governs a large and profitable patent portfolio. In addition, the maps and location based services Nokia acquired with NAVTEQ a few years ago are used widely for example by car manufacturers in the built-in navigation systems.

After a coffee break with snacks, Tiina Tapionlinna (Senior Manager of Strategy) told us about Nokia’s strategy in mobile phones including the popular Asha series with special features such as dual SIM cards, proven popular in the developing markets. Tiina also mentioned an interesting new feature in some of the mobile phones – the phone is capable of compressing data so that the consumer will have an even more affordable way of accessing the Internet. Kimmo Lehtosalo (Director of Product Strategy & Wave Planning) told more about smart devices and how Nokia has been able to incorporate new innovations such as wireless charging into their new line of Lumia phones. Marko Mahkonen (HR University Relations Manager) held the final presentation of the day and introduced us to the career prospects and paths at Nokia for graduates.

Dinner was waiting already at a conference space in one of the highest floors at Nokia House, where we moved next to enjoy a more casual atmosphere with drinks.  We had the opportunity to meet some young Nokia employees and even try out a new Xbox Kinect game! After enjoying the buffet and wine the journey continued to an event of Nokia Young Professionals at Grotesk, where we had the chance to chat a bit more with some younger Nokia employees in a relaxed setting.

-Patrik