Nokia has gone back and forth on rejoining the hardware industry, after selling its mobile division to Microsoft for $7.2 billion earlier this year.

The Helsinki, Finland-based networking and communications company is legally obligated to stay out of the mobile market until 2016, but that doesn't mean they can't use the Nokia brand for other hardware ventures.

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In a hint posted on Twitter, Nokia says "Guess what? We're up to something" with a November 18 date and photo of a plain black box, with the Nokia logo on top. It's unknown what is inside the box.

There are some theories brewing already, one of the most obvious being Nokia's development of a set-top box. Android TV was announced earlier this year at Google I/O, offering a new interface to watch Internet TV.

Nokia will unveil the hardware product at Slush 2014 startup conference - where Jolla - another Finnish smartphone manufacturer, will be present. Jolla has ties with Nokia's hardware division, with the founders previously working at Nokia.

In the past six months, Nokia's profits have shown growth in the company, after a few years of stagnation. The mobile division seems to have been a big sinkhole Nokia was glad to get rid of, with Microsoft sacking 18,000 employees shortly after the purchase.

Moving back into the hardware industry does not exactly mean new jobs for ex-Nokia employees. In fact, it seems more likely Nokia will look for a third party to manufacture whatever product they are developing.

TagsNokia, set-top box, Slush 2014