The shifting fortunes of Nokia

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The company was named in 1871 after the Nokianvirta river, where mining engineer Fredrik Idestam set up his second paper mill. Nokia spent more than a century making tyres, boots or cables before producing the first handheld mobile phone, the Mobira Cityman, in 1987. Nicknamed the "Gorba" after former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev was pictured using one, it weighed a thumping 800 grams and carried an even more daunting price tag—24,000 Finnish Marks (€4,560).