Alleged Nokia Normandy Android-based smartphone engineering prototype surfaces

We’ve heard quite a lot about the Android-powered Nokia Normandy in the past few weeks. The handset made a few appearances on the internet in the form of press renders and leaked images. Recently, another image has surfaced on the internet claiming it to be the engineering prototype of the alleged Nokia Normandy. 

The leaked image surfaced on Twitter, originating from Chinese shores, and shows the similar handset we’ve seen before. It clearly shows the Nokia logo on the screen with a back button at the bottom. It’s quite different from Nokia’s Lumia products, and comes with a similar hardware as found in the Asha line up with a back button on the front.

Based on rumors, the alleged Nokia Normandy will be an entry-level handset with dual-SIM capabilities. Last week, the prolific @evleaks posted some UI screenshots of the alleged handset and revealed the lock screen notifications screen, as well as Skype and possibly Viber (or it could be its dialer) running on the application. It’s rumored that it will come with a 4-inch display and run Android 4.4.1 KitKat pre-installed out of the box. It’s not similar to the stock Android, but rumors revealed it will come with a forked version of the operating system, which we’ve seen running on Amazon’s Kindle line up. 

Many of us believe the handset will never hit retail as Microsoft will soon overtake the company’s Devices and Services division, and kill it. On the other hand, there are a few of those who still believes the Nokia Normandy project is going in full force, and the Finns might launch the handset in the coming weeks. Well, we’re not sure, but we’ll definitely find out more about the handset in the coming weeks, thanks to the rumor mill.

What do you think? Is there a possibility that this will hit retail, and whether Microsoft will support the project after acquisition? Fire away with your thoughts in the comments below.