Nokia Normandy Android phone prototype leaked

Images of Nokia's Android phone — code-named Normandy — were published in November, showing what purported to be a low-cost smartphone that would run with a custom implementation of Android. Now another picture of the phone has appeared on Twitter, showing an apparent "engineering prototype" with a prominent back button and the Nokia logo on a live screen.

The new purported leaked image of the alleged Nokia Normandy comes from a Chinese Twitter user, named @seamissu. The twitter user claims that the leaked image is of the long-rumoured Nokia Normandy, and calls it an 'engineering prototype'. The tweet reads, "The engineering prototype of Nokia Normandy." The leaked image shows the alleged Normandy smartphone with Nokia branding on the screen, which usually appears when switching on a device.

Further the leaked image purportedly reveals the back button below the display that appears to be a capacitive touch button, similar to what usually seen on Nokia's Lumia smartphones. Unfortunately, the leaked image shows the alleged Normandy in a casing which covers most of the rest of the design elements of the device. It's worth pointing out that this is the first time a live image purportedly shows the alleged Normandy Android phone, and we have in the past seen a number of supposed renders of the rumoured device.

This prototype could simply be an old model, or it could suggest that the Normandy project may not be on hold after all: either way, we'll find out in the coming months as Microsoft closes its purchase of the Finnish phone maker.

Earlier this month, the rumoured Nokia Normandy was leaked in image which purportedly revealed a completely custom Android interface running on top of the device. The UI looked reminiscent of the software on Nokia's budget Asha line-up, though it was obviously Android underneath.

Notably, an earlier report had suggested that Nokia, following the lead of Amazon, has been working on a fully-tailored or forked version of Android. Further, the report claimed that the alleged Nokia Normandy smartphone has been targeted at the low-cost segment as an Asha-equivalent smartphone, but with access to more traditional smartphone apps - a benefit that the report suggested had been missing in Nokia's dated Series 40-based Asha phones.

We can see the phone here wrapped in a protective shell. This serves as a way to protect the final design from leaking out prior to launch. The specifications are expected to be fairly low end with the phone packing an entry level dual core Snapdragon processor. There’s also believed to be a 5MP camera unit at the back. Interestingly the phone also has a single button at the bottom which is opposed to the standard menu icons seen on Android devices. The device might be part of Nokia’s announcements at MWC next month.

The leaked Normandy images also showed dual-SIM support, lock screen notifications, an on-going call screen (that could be the dialler app, but looked very similar to popular messaging app Viber) and a login screen for Microsoft's Skype.

It is expected that Nokia will unveil the model at Mobile World Congress in February and launch it in March. Nokia Normady is said to be a budget handset and is said to be positioned against the likes of Asha phones and low-end Lumia smartphones.