Technology

Posted on January 9, 2017 by staff

First Nokia Android phone will only be released in China

Technology

Westerners hoping to get their hands on the first ever Nokia-branded Android phone will be disappointed, as it will be released exclusively in China.

Announced to coincide with the final day of CES in Las Vegas, the device will be marketed in conjunction with the jd.com retail site.

Although Nokia no longer manufactures phone carrying the Nokia name, it licenced its brand to HMD Global – another Finnish company.

It is the first smartphone to be released as part of the deal, which has so far focused on more basic models.

Microsoft briefly used the brand on Windows Phone models about a year after purchasing Nokia’s mobile devices unit in 2014.

HMD said in a statement: “The decision to launch its first Android smartphone into China is a reflection of the desire to meet the real world needs of consumers in different markets around the world.

“With over 552 million smartphone users in China in 2016, a figure that is predicted to grow to more than 593 million users by 2017, it is a strategically important market where premium design and quality is highly valued by consumers.”

The Nokia 6 team believe the handset’s “premium design” will appeal to consumers in China. It runs Android 7.0 – the latest version, also known as Nougat – and features a 5.5in 1080p “full high definition” screen, a 16 megapixel rear camera, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.

HMD also said there were plans to release several more Nokia Android smartphones throughout 2017.

Further details on these handsets are expected at Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress in February.