Nokia President and CEO Stephen Elop debuts the Nokia Lumia 920, NokiaÕs flagship Windows Phone 8 smartphone, at a press event in New York, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012. The Lumia 920 features a camera able to take in five times more light than competing smartphones for sharp pictures in low light without flash, and the phone comes with integrated wireless charging as well as an augmented reality mapping app, Nokia City Lens. (Photo by Diane Bondareff/Invision for Nokia)

Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri in an interview with German publication Manager Magazin mentioned that the company is looking forward returning to the phone industry.

Suri said,

“We will look for suitable partners,… Microsoft makes mobile phones. We would simply design them and then make the brand name available to license.”

Also read: Former Nokia CEO, Stephen Elop to leave Microsoft

According to the deal that took place between Microsoft and Nokia in the autumn of 2013, the latter is not allowed to use its brand until the Q4 of 2016. Due to that, the once mobile giant is planning to reboot in 2016 and start designing and licensing handsets again. The Fin company will essentially partner up with a manufacturer, such as Foxconn (NASDAQ: FXCOF), and start developing phones after all. That report comes hours after Stephen Elop, Nokia’s former CEO, announced that he is leaving Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) to return to his roots.

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