Nokia buys digital health firm Withings, prompts smartwatch rumors

PanARMENIAN.Net - Nokia is buying digital health firm Withings, prompting rumours that a Nokia smartwatch is on the cards, Digital Spy said.

The Finnish company was the biggest phone maker in the world in the early noughties, until the iPhone launched and it failed to keep up. Back in 2014, it sold its mobile division to Microsoft.

Withings is a French firm focusing on wearables and digital health products, and while there's no mention of a Nokia-branded wearable, the firm has explored the area before.

In 2014, images leaked of the Nokia Moonraker, the firm's smartwatch. Sadly, the project was canned and the device never launched.

CEO Rajeev Suri said in a statement: "We have said consistently that digital health was an area of strategic interest to Nokia, and we are now taking concrete action to tap the opportunity of this large and important market."

Nokia is said to be paying €170 million for Withings. The acquisition should be completed in the second half of 2016.