The Desire 601 was first revealed by evleaks in July 2013 under the codename "Zara", describing it as a "mashup" between the HTC One and recent Desire-branded devices, and indicating that it might be released on Sprint in the United States.
@evleaks later tweeted that the name of the phone is Nokia X.
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A few days later, the specifications were leaked by @evleaks, with the device having a dual core Snapdragon processor, 512 MB of RAM, 4 GB internal storage memory, 1500 MAh battery, Nokia Store and third-party app stores, confirming its placement into the low-end market segment.
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A tweet by @evleaks on 31 December 2013 stated that "The reports of Normandy's death have been greatly exaggerated".
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A further leak by @evleaks showed a press image with several colour options for the phone.
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@evleaks later posted screenshots of the UI, showing the lock screen and Skype in action.