New images the Android-based Nokia X, or 'Normandy', have leaked online to give us a better view at the smartphone's design.
When Nokia announced back in 2011 that it was going to exclusively use Microsoft's Windows Phone OS to power its smartphones, many wondered why the company was making such a huge commitment to Microsoft and betting on an unproven smartphone operating system. At the time, Android was quickly growing and unlike Windows Phone, Google's OS had a thriving app ecosystem that could compete with iOS. Nokia stuck to its decision and stood by Microsoft's side, releasing only Lumia smartphones running Windows Phone. In late 2013, there was a report that Nokia was secretly building an Android smartphone as a backup solution in case its Windows Phone ambitions didn't pan out.
Microsoft and Nokia announced in September 2013 that they had entered an agreement in which Microsoft would acquire the company for more than $7 billion. It was then believed that any secret Android experiments Nokia was rumored to be working on were over, since Microsoft was in the process of purchasing Nokia. The news should have quelled any belief that Nokia was still going forward with an Android smartphone, but it was quite the opposite. A new report came out shortly claiming that Nokia's Android smartphone was going by the codename Normandy and even though it was in the process of being acquired by Microsoft, Nokia was still hard at work on its first Android handset.
Leaked images gave the world its first look at the 'Normandy' and its design was very reminiscent of Nokia's Lumia design. There still wasn't proof that the device was powered by Android, but that soon changed when more images leaked showing the smartphone's OS. The screenshots in question showed the device was running Android 4.4.1 KitKat and its user interface had a Windows Phone design to it. French site NoWhereElse has now posted three new images of the smartphone, which is believed to officially launch as the Nokia X. The Nokia X in the images has a brightly-colored orange body, a rear camera, and its power button and volume rocker are placed on its side panel. The setup is very similar to the button layout on Nokia's Lumia smartphones, except for the lack of a dedicated camera button that Microsoft requires on all Windows Phones.
Nokia is expected to officially announce the Nokia X at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2014 in Barcelona in late February. We'll keep our eyes open for any new developments and we'll keep you up to date as soon as we learn more.
