Nokia Normandy/ Nokia X Release Date, News & Specs Round-Up

Windows running on a Mac? Windows Phone running on a Nokia handset? An Intel processor in an Apple machine? All of these did sound extremely improbable at one point in time in the past, but this does not mean that they are impossible. I guess those are the modern day technological equivalents of the four minute mile, and right now we have the Nokia Normandy, also known as the Nokia X, which is an upcoming smartphone that is also rumored to run on Android operating system, which would make it a surprising first for the Microsoft-acquired Finnish company, especially when they have been the staunchest supporter of the Microsoft Windows Phone platform for so long.

Nokia Normandy Android UI

What you see here is clearly a leak of what could very well be the Android user interface of the Nokia Normandy, and the authenticity of this image itself can certainly be called in question, simply because with the kind of modern day technology and tools on hand, to fabricate such an image is not going to take up too much of one’s time and effort. One also ought to take note that the device which is seen here is more or less pretty similar to all of the press renders of the Normandy that have been spotted online even until now. If one were to take a detailed look at the icons on the status bar, it does seem as though the Nokia Normandy would arrive with dual-SIM capability in addition to Wi-Fi connectivity.

Nokia Normandy Metro UI

All right, this is getting a bit weird, really. First, we read about how the Nokia Normandy could very well run on the Android mobile operating system from Google, but here we are with a leaked image of what could very well be the Metro UI spotted on the Nokia Normandy itself – either this smartphone will be able to dual boot, or someone must be wrong somewhere. Of course, who knows that the Normandy is a device that will run a forked version of Android instead, which would translate to it missing out on the Google Play Store and Google branded apps (which pretty much emasculates the Android experience), and could it be modified in such a way to have it look so close to the Metro UI styled start screen which makes it resemble a Windows Phone more than anything else? Who knows? The Nokia Normandy might end up as some kind of “Trojan Horse” by the folks over at Microsoft.

Nokia Normandy Specifications

Considering how the Nokia Normandy has already appeared on a Vietnamese retailer’s website, some of the hardware specifications have been listed – which means that what was shown off is as close as possible to the real deal, assuming that this is not some sort of red herring. After all, Nokia has yet to release anything official concerning the Nokia Normandy to date. The listed hardware specifications point to a 4” WVGA display at 800 x 480 resolution, dual SIM capability that we mentioned about earlier, a 5 megapixel camera located at the back, 512MB RAM, 4GB of internal memory, a microSD memory card slot, and a 1,500 mAh battery to keep it going. The processor itself is touted to be a dual-core one, which would be clocked at a mere 1GHz – nothing much to shout about in this day and age, with Android 4.4 KitKat as the operating system version of choice. Should all of the above mentioned be true, then it would be a mid-range or even entry level device by some peoples’ standards, that would be a decent entry into the emerging markets that clamor for a highly affordable smartphone that is also easy to use.

In a later rumor, however, it seems that the processor has been bumped up to hit 1.7GHz which would certainly give it a whole lot more punch and bite, thanks to a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor. Not only that, a 2,000mAh battery too, would ensure that the Nokia Normandy is able to last quite the distance throughout the day for the average user.

Normandy’s Coat Of Many Colors

The Biblical character of Joseph had his coat of many colors, and it seems that Nokia is not going to stop churning out various colors for their upcoming handsets, with the Nokia Normandy definitely being one of them. Apart from bearing a resemblance to the Nokia Lumia 520 (they are in the same family after all), it will not sport a Windows Phone logo which can be found on just about the rest of the Windows Phone devices from Nokia, other missing buttons include a dedicated camera button, an LED flash as well as the capacitive buttons.So far, the Nokia Normandy does seem to come in various colors, definitely far more choices to choose from compared to its previous outings that ran on the Windows Phone platform. There is bright green, white, yellow, red, blue and what looks like black right at the back. I wonder out of this half dozen bunch, which would be the most popular shade of all?

Nokia Normandy Release Date

Much has been said about the Nokia Normandy until now, and it seems that sometime in the middle of last month, there was word going around that the Nokia Normandy would come with a March 25th release date, which would make it miss the upcoming MWC 2014, so what gives? Just how did one come across the March 25th release date? Well, in one of the latest leaked images of the Normandy user interface, it pointed to what looks like the Windows Phone UI, where the date on it has been set to point to March 25. Other folks claim that it should be February 25th instead, which would make it in time to be unveiled at MWC 2014. Regardless, Both February 25 and March 25 fall on Tuesdays, and which particular date would you prefer to see the Normandy arrive on?

Nokia Normandy Leaked Images

In the past few months, we have more or less amassed our fair share of leaked Nokia Normandy images, and so far the highest number of colors that we have seen it come in would be at six. Apart from that, one of the leaked photos point to it being covered by some sort of protective case, which could be an attempt to make sure that our imagination does not go too wild over the final design of the Nokia Normandy. After all, if you were to know what it looks like exactly, where would the mystery lie when it is finally unveiled to the masses in the first quarter of this year?

Edwin Kee
Categories: Cellphones, Featured
Tags: MWC, MWC 2014, Nokia, normandy