Low-cost Android Phone Comes from Nokia

If you listen to the buzz of several news sources, you will hear talk about Nokia. I’m not referring to the fact that it recently entered into a collaborative agreement with HTC, or the fact that it is in its final stages of completing an acquisition by Microsoft.

I’m referring to the fact that although it may be in the final stages of being acquired by Microsoft, before that happens we are likely to see an Android device with Nokia’s name on it. The rumors and leaks pouring out indicate that an announcement will be made at this year’s Mobile World Congress.

It has been said that the Finnish company’s handset division will unveil a new smartphone at the Mobile World Congress, or very shortly after. The event will take place later this month in Barcelona. I keep saying rumored and leaked because this information comes to us from unidentified sources that are familiar with the matter.

It seems that Nokia engineers had been developing the Android phone when Microsoft was conducting due diligence on its $7.4 billion deal to buy the Nokia handset business and license the company’s patents.

The focus of the Android device is being aimed at emerging market customers. It has been tailored in such a way so that it won’t be promoting most of the key Google-developed features that a more traditional Android-powered phone might have.

For the past three years, Nokia has been using Windows Phone as its smartphones’ OS. This was a result of Microsoft offering billions of dollars for marketing and development. About a year ago a deal was in the works for Microsoft to acquire Nokia. That is just about to come to fruition.

I believe that this is another of those two sides to the story scenarios. You have Microsoft wanting to compete on the high-end side against Android and iOS, so you have Microsoft going up against Google, Apple and Samsung.

On the other hand, in order to make an impact, it is important to find your way into emerging markets. The smartphones and feature phones that are taking this route usually cost less and offer less functionality. The problem for Microsoft is that Windows Phone doesn’t work well on low cost phones. This is due to the fact of the software’s technical requirements.

From all indications, the code name for Nokia’s Android phone is Nokia X. The name that you most likely to hear at the Mobile World Congress is Normandy. Either way, there isn’t much information on the device.

It is possible that the specs will include a 1GHz dual-core chip, 512MB of RAM, 4-inch WVGA screen, 1,500mAh battery, dual-SIM capability and 4GB of expandable storage by way of microSD cards. You can probably expect to see it come in a variety of colors, most likely six.

So, will this be device be the low-level handset for emerging markets or will it turn out to be a new glorified flagship? Will it actually be called Normandy or go by some other moniker? Nokia sent out a vague invitation to its Mobile World Congress event simply asking everyone to meet under the tree.

I suppose that is where the information will fall. We will also have to wait until the event in Barcelona begins on February 24th.