WSJ: ‘Nokia Prepares to Release Android Phone Ahead of Sale to Microsoft’

Sven Grundberg and Shira Ovide, reporting for the WSJ:

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.

Interesting to see what this turns out to be.

★ Monday, 10 February 2014