Nokia fans hankering to get their hands on a new smartphone with their beloved brand name — and without Microsoft’s unloved mobile OS — will need to go to China if they want to buy the first Android-powered from the Finnish phone maker that’s now licensing Nokia’s IP for phones.
The new device maker, HMD , was founded last year by a group of senior ex-Nokians, with the explicit aim of (exclusively) licensing Nokia’s brand name for new mobile hardware — having acquired the relevant rights from former owner, Microsoft back in May .
HMD’s first two mobiles, outted last month , were both features phones. But it’s now announced its debut smartphone: a “premium” handset it’s calling the Nokia 6, which is billed to launch in China in “early 2017”. The device will be distributed exclusively via local electronics ecommerce giant, JD.com, with a price-tag of 1699 CNY ($245).
So what kind of Nokia-branded Android smartphone will $245 buy you? A highly polished aluminum unibody handset, packing a 5.5 inch Gorilla Glass HD screen, which, at a quick glance, could pass for an iPhone.
Inside there’s a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage and the latest flavor of Google’s Android OS (Nougat). Also on board: dual speakers, Dolby Atmos audio, a 16MP rear camera and 8MP front facing lens (both f/2.
