Nokia is quietly plotting to make a comeback into the consumer mobile business as early as 2016. Apart from rejoining the phone market, the company is also preparing to launch a number of other ambitious technology projects which include joining the virtual reality bandwagon.

Nokia may have closed a deal with Microsoft which ended up with the selling of its devices and services to the software company. The $7.2 billion deal has given Microsoft the rights to use the Nokia name and to continue with the production of Nokia smartphones through 2015. The deal however, did not include the Nokia Technologies division which is one of the three divisions of the Finnish-based company.

Nokia Technologies is known for handling the company's licensing process of its portfolio of more than 10,000 patents. It's also charged with handling new product development.

"Nokia Technologies has designed new products and licensed them to other companies," says a report by Re/Code. "So far, these ambitions have been small in scale."

Consumers should not in any way expect the same Nokia that enjoyed its prime in the nineties and in the early 2000's. According to the report, Nokia plans to license its designs and brand to another company that will handle the phones' manufacturing, sales and distribution.

So far, Nokia Technologies has released two products: an Android program otherwise known as Zlauncher and an Android Tablet named N1. The company had licensed the tablet design to another manufacturer which is selling the device under the Nokia name in China.

Nokia's return to the market will most likely employ the familiar tactic it used with the two products. However, some insiders are saying that the two products are only the beginning of what lies ahead for the company.

"They have a lot of great stuff in development," said former Nokia executive Richard Kerris. "It gave me complete confidence that Nokia is a company that is not going away."

Now that the ban on releasing a Nokia handset would be over towards the end of the year, the company will have enough time to work on a new handset which it could unveil as early as 2016. There's no hint yet on what the handset would look like or what features it would offer. Nokia may think about getting into the touchscreen smartphone craze and join the competition against huge rivals such as Apple and Samsung. It's also possible that the next Nokia handset will be Android based because of the lead taken by the N1 tablet.