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Nokia's first Android phone coming February 26

The Nokia 6 runs on Android and is already on sale in China, but it'll make its debut to the rest of the world at the end of next month, almost certainly at the world's largest mobile show.

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BlackBerry isn't the only mega-brand of yesteryear attempting a major comeback. Nokia , too, will unveil its first Android phone, the Nokia 6, to the wider world.

Nokia Mobile teased the Nokia 6, which is already on sale in China, in a video on its Facebook page (see above). "Get ready!", the post reads, "The Nokia 6 is coming to China! More announcements to follow on February 26th... Save the date!"

nokia-6.jpg

The Nokia 6 sells only in China, for now. Expect that to change later next month.

 HMD

The timing is a clue. February 26 coincides with Mobile World Congress (also known as MWC), the world's largest mobile show that takes place in Spain each year at the end of February.

It's here that BlackBerry will officially launch its comeback phone, known as the BlackBerry Mercury. MWC is where we typically see flagship phones from Samsung, LG, HTC, Huawei and Sony.

On January 8, HMD, the company that licensed the Nokia name, announced the Nokia 6 for China. Although it's an Android phone, the Nokia 6 won't run any of Google services, like the Google Play Store, Google Maps or your Google Account -- these don't work in China on any phone. So a global release of the Nokia 6 at MWC is crucial for putting the new Nokia on the map.

HMD owns a 10-year license to exclusively sell Nokia-brand products, branded as Nokia Mobile. To make matters more confusing, "Nokia" still exists as a separate company that sells telecommunications infrastructure equipment and also the pro-grade Ozo camera. Foxconn's FIH Mobile division is in charge of manufacturing and distributing Nokia phones.

Nokia 6 specs

  • 5.5-inch screen with 1,920x1080-pixel resolution
  • 16-megapixel rear camera
  • 8-megapixel front-facing camera
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor
  • 4GB RAM
  • Aluminum chassis
  • Android software
  • Sells in China for 1,700 yuan, which converts to $245, £200 and AU$330

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