FollowWhile many opined that a quick fix solution to Nokia’s woes would be to jump on to the Android bandwagon, Nokia too is reported to have been developing Android powered smartphone and 7 inch tablet devices internally. However, all of that was kept behind the scenes and not surprisingly, it will remain so as new reports that has emerged claim all of such efforts has been put in the cold storage and will remain there in the foreseeable future.
Peter Skillman who heads Ux Design at Nokia has been spearheading efforts for developing several smartphones and tablets that would be cheap to the pocket. One is the Normandy phone which the Verge confirms to have confirmed news of launching in the early part of 2014. This would have a customized Android OS. The other product that has been reported by the Chinese site is a tablet to have in all probability a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chip.
CTech however reports that Nokia has decided to shelve the plans for developing smartphones and tablets running Android. The decision, the report, states is not due to any Microsoft related interventions. Nokia has been taken over by Microsoft, but that does not include the Nokia CTO office which works on the Android project. That means the Normandy smartphones does not exactly come under the purview of Microsoft’s takeover deal of the Finnish company.
The takeover bid and the clause in the contract between Nokia and Microsoft states that Nokia would not be able to sell any phone or tablet under its name for next two years. What this means is that Nokia can develop an Android based device on its own though they would need to give it a new name before introducing it into the market. However, with such a saturated mobile market as of now, this project does not appear to be fruitful for Nokia.
CTech reports the Nokia would be using its plants and R&D infrastructure at the CTO office for conducting research into areas like wireless power transmission, flexible displays, graphene sensors and low power electromagnetic energy generation. There are also accessories and wearable devices that Nokia would be devoting it’s resources to. As such, devices such as smartwatches or smart glasses from Nokia cannot be ruled out in future.
We have not seen the end of Nokia therefore. It is just a new beginning in a new format that the Nokia would be seen in quite soon.
