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It’s official: Nokia is making a return to smartphones with Android-powered handsets in 2017

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We’ve been hearing for a long time that Nokia has been planning a return to the smartphone market, but today those plans became official as Nokia launched a new phones section on its website, confirming that the company is in the process of working on smartphones running Android.

Right away you’ll notice that the website is “operated by HMD Global Oy,” the exclusive licensee of the Nokia brand. The Finnish brand is licensing Nokia’s brand for smartphones and tablets over the next 10 years. The website also encourages users to sign up for updates on the upcoming devices.

As for a release date, Nokia’s site confirms a 2017 debut. The Verge further reports that the first Nokia-branded smartphones will land in the first half of 2017 alongside the release of new feature phones from the company.

Looking back at Nokia’s history over the past several years, this isn’t the first time it’s been associated with Android. Its first smartphone running Android, the Nokia X, was certainly an interesting release, but it didn’t pan out all the well in the end. After the company exited Microsoft, its first Android tablet wasn’t anything all that special.  It’s unclear what Nokia has planned for Android for 2017 or what type of hardware we’ll see released, but at the very least, we don’t have too long a wait to find out…

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