Nokia has recently launched its smartphones running on Microsoft Windows Phone 8 OS and its own-brand of smartphones packed in Symbian. However, Vertu Ti, a luxury smartphone, is believed to be Nokia's first Android handset.

Vertu is a British smartphone company which was an independently run division of Nokia. The Finnish smartphone maker sold 90 percent of its stakes in Vertu to EQT VI but still retains a 10 percent share. Rumors indicate that Nokia is the handset manufacturer, and the evidence is in the upcoming device's model number.

"What's really interesting is that this Vertu Ti has the model number RM-828V, which clearly resembles the model numbers of Nokia's latest Lumia WP8 handsets: Lumia 920 (RM-820 and RM-822) and Lumia 820 (RM-824 and RM-826). So the hardware inside the Vertu Ti must be manufactured by Nokia. Thus, in a way, this is the first Nokia-made Android smartphone - inconceivable as it may sound," reported Unwired View.

Leaked hardware specifications indicate that the Vertu Ti is nothing but a mid-range handset by today's norms.

According to Blog of Mobile, a Japanese Web site, the Vertu Ti runs Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich, and features a display resolution of 800 x 480 pixels only. A dual-core Qualcomm MSM8260 Snapdragon 1.5GHz processor (just like the chip that powers Lumia 920 and Lumia 820) powers the handset.

The handset has NFC, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.0 capabilities and a 1250mAh battery is said to power the alleged Vertu Ti.

The Vertu Ti is expected to have a price tag of $4000 (yes, four thousand dollars!) and is expected to be revealed in February this year.

However, the most interesting thing is that Nokia is manufacturing an Android device. It is unlikely that Nokia will launch any more Symbian smartphones and may transition permanently to Android and/or Windows phones.

In the long run, it remains to be seen if Nokia continues to bring more Windows phone or shifts to the Android platform.