Could Nokia be planning to release an Android handset with a bespoke build of Google’s operating system, akin to Amazon’s Kindle tablet line? That’s the latest trickle coming in on the Finnish company, as more insider leaks and purported press shots hit the web.
The Verge cites multiple sources on the development of a handset codenamed “Normandy”, set to be the company’s latest stab at gaining a large share of the low-end smartphone market. It uses a “forked” version of Google’s OS that would set it apart from the usual OS re-skins from other manufacturers — being designed as an Android-based Asha equivalent.
Along with the news comes the above leaked shot from the EvLeaks Twitter account, supposedly revealing the Normandy to be very similar aesthetically to Nokia’s existing Lumia line-up though.
If all proves true however, the phone may still never see the outside of Nokia’s testing labs — a purported full buyout of the company’s handset business by Microsoft is still rumoured, and the Redmond company would be unlikely to want to push a device using rival Google’s OS over their own Windows Phone platform. [EvLeaks, The Verge]
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