Nokia's origins, astonishing as it may sound, lie in the paper, cable and rubber industries. A Finnish Engineer by the name of Fredrik Idestam started a paper mill by the river Nokianvirta, in southern Finland and soon achieved success with the sprouting requirement for cardboard and paper through the industrial revolution. Soon after, Finnish Rubber Works was set up in the same area, choosing Nokia as a brand name for a handful of its rubber products including footwear and tires. It invested sensibly and purchased majority shares in Finnish Cable Works, a firm set up in the early twentieth century, which attained success in the post World War II age due to a sprouting requirement for telephone and electric cable.

The real start of Nokia's mobile business can be tracked to 1960 when Finnish Cable Works formed its first electronics branch, whose main goal was to promote and manage computers. Soon after, Finnish Cable Works and Finnish Rubber Works fused together to create the Nokia Group. At this time the electronics division contributed less than five percent of all turnover and it was not until the eighties that Nokia's mobile venture really began to flourish.

The era of mobile phones began in 1981 when the original international cellular network, Nordic Mobile Telephone (NMT), was created and Europe had by then deregulated its telecommunication industry. Morbia Oy, a joint venture between Nokia and a main Finnish television maker, debuted its first portable phone, the Morbia Talkman, followed by the Morbia Cityman, the principal hand held phone that could be used on the Nordic network. By the end of the 1980s Nokia was well positioned to manage the world in mobile communication.

The initial part of the 1990s witnessed the birth of the Global System for Mobile Communication or GSM and Nokia was used to make the first GSM call yet. It was at this time that Nokia's management decided to intentionally focus their attention essentially on telecommunication and relinquish its other extraneous divisions. The period was a illustrious one for Nokia with significant occasions such as the debut of its first GSM phone, the debut of the famous Nokia Tune and Snake game and the inauguration of the world's first Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) phone endowed with the ability to browse the internet. But most notably, Nokia was now the comprehensive leader in the mobile phone business having effectively brought in countless well-recognized models.

Nokia managed to hold its lead in the twenty first century with the inauguration of its principal 3G phone in 2002. 3G services permitted mobile users to acquire more superior services including wireless internet and video calls. Gaming and multimedia had also become a huge industry and Nokia added multiplayer gaming options in its more progressive phones like the N-Gage, while the well-liked N series serviced the separate video and audio wants of its devoted consumers. By 2005 Nokia had sold above one billion mobile phones just about half the number of global cellular subscriptions of two billion.

In the present day Nokia is renowned as the one of the most valued makes amongst all countries in the world with winning businesses in mobile phones, wireless data services, multimedia terminals and telecommunication networks. It has unceasingly brought in fresh services like the Ovi, a website which lets users to download constructive Nokia applications and save and move digital data, all through the years to improve the consumer experience. No wonder many thousands of Nokia cell phone users across the globe look at it not just as a mobile phone, but an indispensable part of life.