Nokia to release a smartphone this month that runs a unique version Android

The Wall Street Journal reports that Nokia has plans to release an Android-powered smartphone later this month at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, according to “people familiar with the matter”. Apparently, the Android handset that Nokia has been working on before it joined forces with Microsoft is coming to market after all, but it won’t be the kind of Android device you’re thinking of. 

Nokia Corp plans to release this month a smartphone that runs a version of Google Inc’s Android mobile software, according to people familiar with the matter, as it concludes the sale of its handset business to Microsoft Corp. Nokia engineers had been developing the Android phone when Microsoft was conducting due diligence on its €5.4 billion ($7.4 billion) deal to buy the Nokia handset business and license the company’s patents. The Android phone was aimed at emerging market customers, and has been tailored in a way that won’t promote some of the key Google-developed features that a more traditional Android-powered phone might, these people said.