Nokia plans to introduce later this month at the Mobile World Congress its first smartphone powered by Google's Android OS, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal. Nokia engineers had been developing the Android phone before Microsoft agreed in September 2013 to buy the company's handset business. Adopting Android is expected to help Nokia better target the low end of the smartphone market, where Windows has yet to establish a presence.
The Nokia phones won't use some Google-developed features or Android apps from the Google Play storefront, the report said. Instead, the phone will come installed with digital services created by Nokia and Microsoft, including mapping service Here and streaming music service MixRadio, as well as a Nokia application store.
