Nokia will introduce a new low-end
handset that uses Google's Android mobile operating system later this month in
Barcelona at the Mobile World Congress trade show, according to a report on
Monday from The Wall Street Journal.
Nokia has been rumored for months to be
working on a device that uses the open sourceAndroid operating
system. The phone, which is aimed at developing markets, will be a low-end,
inexpensive device. According to various news reports, the device will not be able
to access the Google Play application store. Instead, it will run services
created by Nokia and Microsoft, including Here maps and Mix Radio. Nokia will
offer its own application store for the phone that will offer access to popular
Android apps, such as Skype, Facebook, Twitter, and many others.
The device code-named Normandy, may go by the name Nokia X, when
it's released. According to reports, the phone will offer a dual-core 1GHz
Snapdragon processor, a 4-inch WVGA screen, 512MB of memory, 4GB of storage,
and a microSD card slot. It's expected to be available in a choice of six
colors, and it will reportedly include a 5MP camera, a 1,500mAh battery, and a
dual-SIM setup.
Nokia is scheduled to hold a press conference in Barcelona at the
MWC trade show on Monday, February 24. It's believed the phone will be shown
off at this event, according to the Journal.
Addressing the low-end
smartphone market
The strategy to use the Android operating system is similar to how Amazon has used the OS for its Kindle tablet, the Kindle Fire. Amazon also used the open source software as a basis for its device, but it does not provide access to the Google Play store or many of the made for Google Android apps that are available.
The strategy to use the Android operating system is similar to how Amazon has used the OS for its Kindle tablet, the Kindle Fire. Amazon also used the open source software as a basis for its device, but it does not provide access to the Google Play store or many of the made for Google Android apps that are available.
According to several reports, this is the same way that Nokia will
use Android for its new low-end phones.
Three years ago Nokia abandoned its
home-grown smartphone OS, called Symbian, in favor of
using Microsoft's Windows Phoneoperating system. The company uses
this software in its Lumia product line, which has a mix of high-end,
mid-range, and even some low-end devices. Nokia has seen modest success with
Windows Phone and the Lumia brand.
Last year, Microsoft agreed to buy Nokia's devices and services
business for $7.4 billion. The deal is expected to close within the first half
of this year.
Even though Nokia has used Windows Phone exclusively for its
high-end smartphones, the company has used a different OS to address many
developing markets, such as India. The company has developed a separate product
line called Asha, which replaces its old Series 40 devices. The devices use a
homegrown OS that looks similar to the now retired Symbian operating system.
Source: CNET
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