Why Nokia has to become more trendy

Four years ago, Europe boasted no finer industrial achievement than Finland's Nokia, the world's lar...

Four years ago, Europe boasted no finer industrial achievement than Finland's Nokia, the world's largest manufacturer of mobile phones. Its success only grew as its sleek handsets got smaller. From a small manufacturer of toilet paper and rubber boots, it stormed the telephone industry, overtaking Motorola as the largest handset maker in 1998. In December 1999, it became the biggest company in Europe, measured by market value, shoving aside traditional giants such as BP and Deutsche Telekom. At that time, it was worth E200bn ($247bn), after the shares rose 400-fold during the 1990s. And no...