The rumored Nokia Android smartphone has been tipped as close to release this week, after we saw the leaks of it having a lot of Windows UI element, it will come as no surprise that it’s full of Microsoft and Nokia-created apps inside instead of Google’s own. We have seen other companies like Amazon do this before, get Android and fork it to a degree where Google itself need no longer be involved on the surface. Here Nokia is said to be taking a stab without Google’s apps appearing anywhere on the device.
Licensing Android from Google means the manufacturer is able to use Google Play to access apps, but it also means Google’s full suite of apps must come with it. This includes Gmail, Google Maps, and a handful of other apps as well, as a requirement.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft and Nokia are about to make a play for the budget device market with an Android device of their own, that doesn’t follow Google’s rules, working instead with apps like “Here maps” and “Mix Radio” as well as a Nokia-made app store with Android apps.
It’s still unknown whether Nokia will go and release this phone since they are soon to be under Mircosoft’s hands. The phone is further rumored to have the following specs.
- 4-inch display,
- Qualcomm S4 processor,
- 3-megapixel camera,
- 4GB of storage with micro SD card expansion
- 512MB of RAM
- FM Radio Support
