Nokia thought of switching to Android before dealing with Microsoft, Android-powered Asha phones were planned for 2014 release

It's true. Smartphone manufacturer Nokia who recently sold its devices and services unit to Microsoft for $7.2 billion, turned out to be secretly testing Google's Android operating system on it's Lumia and Asha phones before dealing with Microsoft. According to New York Times, Nokia Lumia Android phone was being considered, and prototypes were also reportedly made by the company.

Saturday, September 14, 2013

/ by Aman Banka

It's true. Smartphone manufacturer Nokia who recently sold its devices and services unit to Microsoft for $7.2 billion, turned out to be secretly testing Google's Android operating system on it's Lumia and Asha phones before dealing with Microsoft. According to New York Times, Nokia Lumia Android phone was being considered, and prototypes were also reportedly made by the company.

Android on Lumia

As per NYT report, Android powered Nokia phones was more than a possibility and it was real. The company was planning to launch Android-powered Asha phones sometime after late 2014. Switching from Windows to Android was Nokia's plan B for it's future.

"A team within Nokia had Android up and running on the company's Lumia handsets well before Microsoft and Nokia began negotiating Microsoft's $7.2 billion acquisition of Nokia's mobile phone and services business, according to two people briefed on the effort who declined to be identified because the project was confidential," reported NYT.

Nokia has faced criticism that it made the wrong decision in choosing Windows Phone over Android several years ago. Nokia's share of the smartphone market fell to 3 percent during the first half of 2013, from 32.8 percent in 2010.

Now that Microsoft has acquired Nokia's smartphone business, whatever little hope was there for a Nokia Android phone, it is gone and we will probably never see Android running on Nokia phones.

Source - New York Times

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