Nokia Normandy Android smartphone rumoured for 2014

Nokia is rumoured to be preparing its first Android smartphone, which would either sit alongside or replace its existing range of Asha budget handsets and go on sale in 2014.

According to The Verge, unnamed Nokia employees have said the smartphone, codenamed Normandy, has been under development for some time.

The reason for the slow gestation is that Nokia is experimenting with a heavily customised version of the Android operating system – much in the same way that Amazon completely changes Google’s interface for its Kindle Fire HD tablets.

We got our first look at a potential Normandy prototype in November, when prolific Twitter spy @evleaks posted images of a red handset without the usual capacitive buttons or Windows logo. It was originally thought to be an Asha device, but Nokia insiders have said otherwise.

Despite having sold its devices division to Microsoft, these rumours suggest Nokia isn’t going to be tied to the Windows Phone mobile operating system forever. The company hasn’t said anything official, but with Mobile World Congress set for February we could only have a few months to wait.