Nokia Developing Normandy Android Phone (Report)

Nokia currently leads the charge for Windows Phone 8 handsets, but the smartphone giant may soon be playing for the other team, too. According to sources close to the Finnish phone maker, Nokia is building a smartphone based around Google's widespread Android OS.

Codenamed Normandy, the rumored device first surfaced in an evleaks image of a red, Lumia-esque phone with no navigation buttons.The Verge reports that Nokia's supposed Android phone could be a budget device in the vein of its low-cost Asha handsets, and may carry a custom version of Android, much like Amazon's Kindle tablets.

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Pictures of the purported handset are making their rounds just months after Microsoftspent $7.2 billionto secure Nokia's mobile phone business, and it's unclear whether or not Nokia plans to release the Normandy before its deal with Microsoft is finalized. Since then, Nokia has released its first Windows RT tablet with the Lumia 2520 and its biggest Windows 8 smartphone yet with the Lumia 1520.

If the Normandy becomes a reality, Nokia wouldn't be the first Windows-heavy manufacturer to dabble in Google's mobile OS. Dell recently released its first Android tablets with the Venue 7 and 8, after flopping with its own Android phones.

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