Finland Cheers Nokia’s Uphill Battle for Smartphone Comeback

  • Economy never recovered from sale of unit, loss of jobs
  • ‘It was such a great brand. Good to promote Finnish design’
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Finland, locked in a downward economic spiral since Nokia Oyj’s fall from atop the smartphone world, cheered the announcement that handsets bearing the company’s badge will reappear, and with them the possibility of much-needed jobs.

The country, which eked out 0.5 percent growth in 2015 after three years of recession, took a massive hit when Espoo-based Nokia surrendered to Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. in 2014 and sold its flagship handset business to Microsoft Corp.