Nokia’s global presence is unarguably still strong. The manufacturer still has plenty of pull around the world, but despite all that there’s still conversations going around, talking about whether or not Nokia’s future is as bright as it used to be. What makes it worse, though, is that the talks are now being punctuated by rumors that other manufacturers and companies are looking to buy Nokia’s mobile phones division. For Nokia, the public’s perception of the company here in the States seems to not necessarily be negative, but more or less non-existent. Finding a Nokia-branded phone locally is pretty hard these days, which makes sense considering the huge push that Apple, Motorola, Samsung, HTC, and LG have had here over the last few years. But, should the conversation about Nokia’s gradual decline really be including other companies buying Nokia’s mobile phone division?

We’ve heard in the past that Microsoft was willing to lay down a pretty hefty chunk of change for Nokia’s mobile division, but those reports have quieted down quite considerably. But, it doesn’t look like they’re completely ready to die, even if a new company is now being suggested as the prime candidate to snatch up Nokia’s brand name. This time around it’s Samsung, but there’s no talk about how much money is being talked about. And of course Nokia nor Samsung are commenting on the new rumors, which is nothing new.

Microsoft’s rumored pitch consisted of $19 billion being handed over from the Redmond-based company to complete the purchase. For some, this seems like a legitimate step for both Microsoft and Nokia, considering the partnership the two companies have at this point. Nokia is working on their own branded Windows Phone devices, which are set to launch before the end of 2011. But at this point Nokia is still its own company, and able to make decisions on their own. That would obviously change if Microsoft (or anyone, for that matter) purchased them and swallowed Nokia’s mobile division.

I’m going to have to agree with the report’s Canalys analyst, Pete Cunningham. He doesn’t see much of a reason for Samsung to snatch up Nokia at this point. The truth is, Samsung is poised to take on Apple at this moment, and for the foreseeable future, so spending the money to buy Nokia at this point just doesn’t make much sense. Nokia’s big move was investing heavily in Windows Phone, and while Samsung does indeed make several WP7 handsets at this point, that’s their deal with Microsoft, just like HTC and Dell.

There’s no telling what would happen if Samsung bought Nokia’s mobile division. The possibilities are almost endless, but it would seem that if given the opportunity, Samsung would more than likely disband Nokia as it is now, and incorporate the Finnish manufacturer’s factories to help build their own devices. I don’t think Nokia’s presence in the market warrants this drastic of an action at this point, but then again that could be exactly where Nokia is.

If you had to choose, which company do you think should buy Nokia, and why? Which of the many manufacturers out there do you think would benefit the most from buying one of the largest smartphone companies in the world? Let me know in the comments what you think.