Nokia reportedly plans to unveil an Android variant smartphone at the upcoming Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2014 targeting the entry-level segment, according to industry watchers.

　　While the core of the variant is still based on Android, Nokia will add its service applications, including Bing search, Here map and Skype MSN, into the platform, said the watchers.

　　Given that Android smartphones now account for an overwhelming 80% of the global smartphone market, and Windows Phones take a less than 4% share, Nokia has no choice but to launch Android variants in order to attract more users to switch to Windows Phone, commented the watchers.

　　Global shipments of Windows Phone-based smartphones totaled 33 million units in 2013, of which 30 million were shipped by Nokia, the sources revealed.

　　Meanwhile, market rumors also indicated that Microsoft is evaluating the possibility of having Windows-based mobile devices run applications supporting Google Play to enrich the applications of its Windows Phone Store.