Nokia could be looking to stir up the mobile industry by launching its first ever Android smartphone.
A device, titled the Nokia 1100, has turned up on Geekbench (via NPU), clueing the company’s intentions for the mobile market.
Amusingly, the Nokia 1100 was a classic Nokia phone that launched back in 2003, eventually landing in the hands of 250 million users worldwide – making it the highest selling handset in history.
What’s more, the device appears to be running Google’s latest Android 5.0 mobile operating system.
Nokia recently released its first mobile Android device, the Nokia N1 tablet, so an Android smartphone from the firm isn’t a huge stretch of the imagination.
The benchmark test sheet also reveals the device will carry a MediaTek MT6582 processor clocked with four cores clocked at 1.3GHz, plus 466MB of memory (read: 512MB RAM module).
All of this points to a distinctly low-end handset, which means Nokia is likely looking to flog these devices in bulk, possibly in emerging markets.
It’s worth noting that MediaTek’s MT6582 chip can handle 720p displays and 8-megapixel camera sensors, which offers further clues as to the handset’s low-tier placement.
Related: 11 Best Android Phones
The likeliest scenario is that Nokia is currently testing an Android smartphone that they’re trying to keep under wraps, so they’ve just stuck a classic phone name tag on it for good measure.
An actual reboot of the Nokia 1100 seems quite unlikely, largely because the smartphone market has long passed squeezing out the bricky blowers of yore.
Unfortunately, while the idea of Nokia launching a smartphone is all well and good, the device in question probably won’t be landing any time soon.
That’s because Microsoft acquired the company’s mobile business back in 2013, and made Nokia proper sign a deal saying it wouldn’t launch any smartphones until Q4 2016.
Would you be interested in a budget Nokia Android smartphone? Even one based on the classic 1100? Let us know in the comments…
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
