Nokia is already working on new handsets

Dec 22, 2014 08:55 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft closed its purchase of Nokia’s devices business back in April. As a result, the Lumia line is now maintained by the Redmond giant, so all new Lumia models will come branded solely with the name and logo of Microsoft.

Although Nokia is prohibited from making its own smartphone models until 2016, it doesn't mean the Finnish company is not working on several concepts.

Actually, the impediment refers only to smartphones, so Nokia is still allowed to design and sell other products.

Nokia is still active at some level

Last month, Nokia caught us off guard when it rolled out the Nokia N1 tablet, which runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop and brings to the table pretty decent specs.

The slate isn't actually developed by Nokia per-se, but by Foxconn. Anyway, as you can see, Nokia is very much alive and kicking, and as soon as the prohibition caused by the Microsoft acquisition lifts, we should be expecting to see a few Nokia handsets make their way on the market.

Actually, what looks to be Nokia’s first Android smartphone prototype since the Microsoft acquisition has already been spotted online (via Gadget Blaze).

The handset is being touted as the C1 and bears a striking resemblance in nomenclature to the first post-Microsoft tablet, the N1.

We’re given access to two images, out of which one seems to be more realistic. The other one depicts a device with a weird body frame, which gives the impression we are dealing with a flexible/bendable display.

Nokia's C1 specs point towards a middle-range handset

As for specifications, the smartphone should boast a 5-inch display, an Intel-made chipset (you are free to image which kind at this point), 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage and two cameras (8MP on the back and 5MP up in front).

One of the leaked images looked like a promo slide for the upcoming smartphone, characterizing the handsets with adjectives like #style, #ideal and #finesse.

So the question arises, is the C1 actually a real device? At this point, we can’t give you a straight answer, so you better take all we said above with a grain of salt.

Rumor has it that Nokia still holds on to its innovation team, so the scenario might make sense if a third party manufacturer like Foxconn also comes into play.

Anyway, for the time being if you crave a brand new Nokia device, hopefully you’ll have a chance to pick up the new Nokia N1 tablet soon.

The tablet should be released in China in mid-February 2015 and should arrive in Europe soon afterwards. No word on when the US is going to get it, though.

Update

Sadly, it appears that both images that showed up today are actually fan-based illustrations. The first one has been inspired by the Nokia N1 tablet, while the second is actually a conceptual render based on the Nokia N900 which ran on MeeGo. So no, this is not Nokia's first post-Microsoft acquisition smartphone.

Nokia C1 smartphone (6 Images)

Nokia C1 is a fan-based illustration based on Nokia N1
Conceptual render based on the Nokia N900Nokia just released the N1 tablet
+3more