Nokia X Android phone expected at MWC: Everything we know so far

The Nokia Android phone that has been the fantasy for many smartphone enthusiasts may soon become a reality. Rumours are rife that the Finnish firm may finally unveil its first Android phone this month, **possibly at the MWC** or even before that. Though Nokia has refrained from uttering a word about the possibility of such a device, it has already shown up in the form of Normandy or Nokia X. There has been a string of leaks and rumours around the device. Here’s a quick recap of what we know about the Nokia Android phone so far.   User Interface The phone is believed to run a **heavily skinned version of Android 4.4. KitKat** , making it look **more like Windows Phone** , instead of your average Android phone. A **previous leak** has pointed at the phone running on a 3.4.0 Kernel, hinting at ART optimisation by Nokia. There has been wide speculation that Nokia may push out its low-end Asha series running on Android OS, and camouflage it with a completely different UI, something we’ve seen Amazon do in the past. On the other hand, company’s high-end Lumia device would still run on Windows Phone OS. Going by the leaks and rumours so far, this looks more likely. [caption id=“attachment_208102” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  Leaked UI[/caption]   Apps It is believed that the Nokia Android phone aka Normandy aka Nokia X will **ditch the Google Play Store** and have support for the Nokia Store instead. So, if you were thinking of getting your hands on the best of Android apps using the Nokia phone, then you may be slightly disappointed. It is aimed at emerging markets and will not feature some of Google’s higher-end, custom Android features. Prolific tipster evleaks had earlier revealed a list of specs for the Android phone including support for the Nokia store. There was no mention of Google Play Services either, which enables the cloud-syncing and background app updates, as well as updates to Google apps.   Design and colours There have been **several leaked** images prototypes of the Nokia Android device circulating the web. One such render shows the device dipped in **six colour variants** : black, cyan, green, red, white and yellow. It will remind you of the new Asha phones, **Asha 500** , Asha 502 and **Asha 503** . [caption id=“attachment_208503” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  Normandy’s colour palette is similar to the Nokia Asha lineup[/caption]   Processor A Chinese website called tieba.baidu.com had thrown up alleged screen captures of Nokia’s first Android pursuit. The screenshots have revealed that the phone will use a **Qualcomm Snapdragon processor** ; however, they didn’t reveal which one. Some reports suggest it as a low-powered device to be armed with a dual-core 1GHz processor and 512MB of RAM. Since Nokia plans to make this a budget handset, according to rumours, it will be interesting to see how it adapts KitKat, the Android version that is capable of running on phones with less RAM.   Display Early rumours had disclosed that the Normandy would feature a resolution of 800×480 pixels. However, there was no word on the size of display. Going by the several leaked prototypes, the Normandy is expected to come with a 4-inch display, which is in line with the low end Lumia 520 and Lumia 525, **which we reviewed last month** . [caption id=“attachment_208381” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  yet another leaked prototype[/caption]   Other specs Some other purported specs of the rumoured Nokia Android phone include dual SIM support, 5MP camera, 4GB onboard storage, microSD card slot and 1500mAh battery.   Price and availability While there is no word on the possible pricing of the upcoming Nokia Android phone or indeed its availability, the device is likely to be launched this month before the Microsoft-Nokia deal is completed. It could also be announced at the Mobile World Congress, where Nokia has an event scheduled with a possible March launch.