Singapore-based Newkia to jump into the Nokia branding gap with Android-running knock-off

CNET reports that at ex-Nokian is looking to take advantage of the Nokia brand exiting the smartphone market by releasing an Android handset sharpened by “Nokia know-how.”

Thomas Zilliacus, who was Nokia’s Asia-Pacific CEO for seven years, is gathering up other ex-Nokians with an interest in developing for Android.

“What Newkia wants to do is to use Nokia know-how, technology, and design to build the world’s best smartphones, but running on Android,” he said.

He already has some ex-staff, is gathering more, and while the company will be Singapore-based, will have his R&D centre in Finland.

Zilliacus is not just joking either. He has the resources of his investment company Mobile FutureWorks, at his disposal, and in fact tried to purchase Nokia last year, but was unable to raise enough capital.

He expects to have his first phone, targeted at the Asian market, on sale in a year, and may eventually also target the US market.

Zilliacus said Newkia can offer consumers what can be “new, exciting, and different,” though it seems to us his company is merely, like Nokla and Sonny, trying to rip of a well know brand-name, this time relatively unopposed due to Nokia sun-setting it.

With some readers saying they are prepared to use a Jolla Sailfish phone, will any of our Nokia fan readers be supporting these off-shoot companies? Let us know below.

Thanks Nishy for the tip.