Notkia is new Newkia of Nokia

When Nokia announced selling its Devices and Services department there were people that wished Nokia went towards Android. Nokia ex-employee Thomas Zilliacus was one of those and he tried to make it happen by starting a Singapore-based mobile company called Newkia. That project didn’t last long and all we got was HMD Global which brought the brand we all like back to life.

But something else is happening today. There is a strong anti-Android and anti-smartphone movement of people who long for classic devices like the Nokia 1680. A hacker called Reimu of SudoMaker created a project called Notkia (completely opposite to Newkia and Nokia of today) with the aim to oppose the struggle with privacy violations and limited hackability that Android brings.

Notkia is not a new Nokia-looking feature phone but a replacement board for Nokia 168x series phones that are equipped with an improved display, USB-C, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. The old 128×160 display was replaced with an IPS 220×280 screen.The phone is using LoRa 4G module since it was the only one that can fit the form factor. Interestingly, there is also a USB Type-C port for charging and OtG, an RGB LED, an SHT20 sensor, and Notkia 1680 supports a 5MP camera.

The phone is running Linux-based software and there is a series of demos that can be tested (keypad input, LCD backlight dimming, LVGL music player). The project seems to be almost ready to create something more and [Reimu] is planning to launch CrowdSupply so if you care to support him, sign up by e-mail to get project updates.

 

Thanks Spaha for the tip 😉

 

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