Nokia currently has a non-compete agreement with Microsoft because it sold its handset division to the company, which means that Nokia isn’t allowed to create or help create any kind of handset until the agreement expires next year. When it does expire, however, not only will Nokia start popping out its own Android smartphones, a new report suggests that the company will be designing an entirely new mobile operating system. 

As you probably know, Nokia has been going back and forth regarding its future as a smartphone manufacturer. After the first rumors emerged, Nokia has officially shut them down saying that it has no intention of going back to the smartphone business. More recently, however, Nokia’s CEO Rajeev Suri had a change of heart and went on record that its company intends to design smartphones again. Once its “non-compete” clause with Microsoft expires (that’s 2016), that is. Now, according to analyst Pierre Ferragu of Berstein Research, not only that Nokia will become a threat to second-tier Android manufacturers, but it will also try it hand, again, at building an entirely new OS. Caught your interest? Good, stay with us for more. According to Pierre Ferragu, Nokia is indeed preparing to launch Android smartphones. To this extent, the company has begun hiring engineers that have “intimate familiarity with Android software.”