Nokia could have more Android phones coming this May

Rumors of the Nokia Normandy are really heating up and soon it might just be the first of a whole pack of Android-powered phones.

Phone Arena posted a new report talking with an Artesyn Technologies source that says the Finnish phone company will have more Android phones coming this year including several higher-end models.

Supposedly this new slew of phones powered by Google's mobile OS will be revealed sometime between May and June. The source says the phones will come at different price points but there's no word if it will be able to reach the Play Store unlike the Normandy.

Shuffling technology around

The Phone Arena report goes on to say that Microsoft has put Nokia through the chop shop, leaving its new acquisition with the low-end Asha and feature phone departments.

Meanwhile, teams involved with Nokia's more notable hardware bits including PureView Cameras, HAAC microphones, and ClearBlack displays have been moved to Redmond.

Taking these technology shifts into account, its possible that a majority of Nokia's Android phones could come as budget handsets with the Asha overlay – essentially a faux-smartphone tiled, touchscreen interface.

Nokia's Android pathfinder

Thus far, the only Android Nokia handset we know about is the Normandy. The phone set to make its debut at MWC 2014 and its already shaping up to be an abnormal little droid.

Instead of accessing the Play Store, Microsoft plans to supply the handset with their own apps such as Here maps and Mix radio, and Nokia's own shop of Android apps.

Its already odd enough to see the Microsoft-owned company putting anything but a Windows Phone OS on just one of its handset, but we'll let you know if we spot any other goodies from Nokia featuring Google's green bot.

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Updated: Nokia X / Normandy release date, news and rumors

Nokia X release date and OS

It started out as a pie-in-the-sky rumor: Nokia is making an Android device? Surely not, given the Finnish firm has only recently been acquired by software giant (and the Windows Phone peddling) Microsoft. So why would Nokia jump into bed with the enemy?

While many eyebrows were raised, and eyes rolled, when news of the Nokia Normandy first took to the web, the sheer deluge of leaks have added more and more credibility to the handset's existence.

The Nokia Normandy moniker is generally considered a codename for the handset, but there are differing opinions to the name it will officially launch under.

In the red corner you have seasoned mobile leaker @evleaks claiming "Project Normandy = Nokia X", while in the blue there's a new Twitter player @NextLeaks who reckons "Nokia Asha 4xx = Nokia Normandy". Place your bets now.

Cut to the chase
What is it? Nokia's first smartphone to run Google's Android OS
When is it out? All eyes are on MWC 2014
What will it cost? Not a lot, it's aimed at emerging markets

Nokia Normandy release date and price

Most Nokia X rumors are currently highlighting MWC 2014 in Barcelona as the platform for the Nokia Android smartphone to make its international appearance.

Nokia already has a press conference confirmed for February 24, and all eyes will be on the Finnish firm to see if the Android Normandy handset does indeed exist.

It's not clear when, or even if, you'll be able to get your hands on the Nokia Normandy, as its low-end credentials means it could be destined for emerging markets only - skipping the likes of the UK, US and Australia.

With low-end specs comes an equally low-end price, so you can expect the Nokia X to be a pretty affordable - if hard to come by - Android device.

Here's what we reckon the Nokia X should look like:

YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtERIbk7N-E

Nokia Normandy operating system

The signal biggest feature on the Nokia X will be its operating system. Nokia is heavily invested in the Windows Phone platform for its Lumia range, while its Asha devices run its own, in-house Asha OS.

The Nokia Normandy isn't expected to run either of these, instead opting for Google's Android operating system - albeit a hugely modified version.

We've seen numerous screen grabs appear online, claiming to show the Android setup on the Nokia X, with many drawing more comparisons with Windows Phone or the defunct MeeGo platform rather than its supposed Android base.

The first screens to appear don't give a great deal away, but the more detailed lockscreen notifications, an Android style dialer app and a Google-esque notifications bar hint that the Nokia Normandy is packing a different, Google-flavored, OS.

Then came a snap claiming to show the app list on Nokia Normandy - and this has an air of MeeGo about it as well as a similar notification bar to the previous screens.

The most detailed screenshots to date however come via @evleaks, and show what appears to be a long, vertical, scrollable homescreen made up of various live-tile esque boxes and application icons.

Some of the apps which appear in these screens (e.g. BBM and Plants vs. Zombies 2) are not currently available on the Windows Phone store, but do exist on Google Play, once again pointing towards an Android influence for the Nokia X.

Nokia X screen, design and specs

Nokia Normandy screen

Don't go expecting an expansive, 5-inch full HD display here; the Nokia X is set to keep things low key.

The Nokia Android phone is tipped to sport a middle of the road 4-inch display with a mediocre 480 x 854 resolution.

This tallies with the leaked image in the previous section, supposedly showing the dinky looking Nokia Normandy being held in a hand.

Nokia Normandy design

As well as the leaked screenshots we've also seen pictures revealing the design of the Nokia X, and it's on course to be more of the same from the Finnish firm.

A unibody design in a range of bright colors appears to be the status quo at Nokia at the moment and the Normandy seems to be almost identical to the firm's latest range of Asha smartphones.

The Normandy has also been teased by Twitter leaker @Vizileaks, who posted the following snap online with the "and the waiting game begins..." - oh, you tease.

There's no way to be sure any of these snaps are legit as they are all missing vital Google/Android branding/screens.

One particular leak from @evleaks shows six color options (green, white, yellow, blue, red and black) as well as a single key below the screen - the same as the Nokia Asha 503.

If that wasn't enough in terms of colors, a picture of an orange handset claiming to be the Nokia X has also appeared online - although even the site that picked it up said "authenticity [of the images] is far from proven."

Nokia Normandy specs

In terms of other specs the Android toting Nokia Normandy is tipped to sport a 1GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, Adreno 302 GPU and 512MB of RAM - hardly worth writing home about, but once again it reinforces the "budget" angle.

Round the back the Normandy will apparently feature a 5MP snapper capable of 720p HD video capture, but there doesn't appear to be any front facing option.

Word of 4GB of internal storage is also rather disappointing (especially as the operating system will take up chunk of it), but the Nokia Normandy will also rock a microSD card slot according to a spec list leak.