Nokia Launches Nokia X Range On Android
Nokia launched a new range of Android smartphones under the Nokia X range at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) with decent specs with affordability as the main criteria and aimed at growth markets. The new series consists of Nokia X, Nokia X+ and Nokia XL.
| NOKIA X IS HERE ANDROID+NOKIA NOKIA X GOOD BYE SAMSUNG |
Features
All the 3 Nokia smartphones use a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8225 dual-core processor and run on the latest Android update, Android KitKat 4.4.2, though with some customizations so to speak. All Google services have been replaced with their Microsoft or Nokia counterparts and although the phones do not have Google Play, it is easy to point out that most of these apps are available on the third-party domain which means that you can use almost ANY app that works on an average Android smartphone on this forked version of Android.
Nokia will also provide a curated app store called the Nokia App Store having popular apps. Nokia will also provide nearly a dozen third-party app stores and many pre-installed apps like Skype, Whatsapp, BBM, Vine, Twitter along with Nokia’s offline HERE Maps, MixRadio and many other Nokia Asha and Windows Phone 8 features. Nokia also gives free 7 GB OneDrive cloud storage out of the box.
The UI is primarily inspired from Windows Phone 8 and Asha OS, with features such as Fastlane- an integrated social hub found on Asha OS, Glance Screen taken from WP8, Tiles inspired from Windows Phone 8 among others. Basically it is a Windows Phone- Asha hybrid with Android functionality, which is a BIG PLUS.
NOKIA X, X+ and XL Image Courtesy: conversations.nokia.com |
Nokia X and X+ have a 4” IPS LCD WVGA display with 512 MB and 768 MB RAM respectively. Both weigh 128 gms and support 2G as well as 3G, with a rear 3 MP camera and no front-facing camera for video calling. Nokia X+ also comes with a 4 GB microSD card free.
Nokia XL has a 5” IPS LCD WVGA display with 768 MB RAM, weighing about 190 gms and with 2G/3G support. XL has a 5 MP autofocus rear camera with flash while a 2 MP front-facing camera for Skype calls. It also includes the 4 GB free microSD card.
| NOKIA X: ASHA+ WINDOWS PHONE 8 + ANDROID - GOOGLE= NOKIA X. |
All the 3 phones support most of the previous rumours and bear close resemblance with the Asha and Lumia series in terms of looks, with different colours made available.
Nokia X would be immediately available in Asia Pacific, Europe, India, Latin America, the Middle-East and Africa while worldwide shipments will likely start from Q2 of 2014.
The Letdowns
Nokia has put in a lot of effort, but keep in mind that these are budget smartphones priced in the range of €89 to €109(Nokia X €89, Nokia X+ €99, Nokia XL €109) so the hardware doesn’t have to be as promising as the various Android flagships. Nevertheless, the dual-core processor and less than 1 GB RAM may seem a letdown but it is hard to predict how efficiently the Nokia X series can handle memory, so no comment there.
VERDICT
Nokia has tried to prove something, and going by the information currently revealed and available, this offering seems pretty promising. Hope this to be a hit in growth markets.
| Nokia X: Variety of colours. Nokia XL is not available in Red but in Bright Orange |
Let’s wait and see the response worldwide.
I think now that Nokia has its range of affordable Android or "Windroid"-as some like to call it- smartphones at such competitive price points for a country like India it means a lot. Nokia has always been the market leader in feature phones and with these offerings Nokia can certainly hop to capture the sub-Rs. 8000 market with the Nokia user experience coupled with the first-class Android range of apps. This is a very big step for Nokia and even though the hardware is not worth boasting about, I think their strategy was to open the world of Android for the masses. That is Nokia in its true spirit. Nokia, with its high brand value and brand recall here can expect these products to be instant hits. We welcome the step.
You may not want to miss this phone.
ALSO: Nokia also released two other affordable Asha phones, one being the ultra affordable touch Asha 230 and the other non-touch Asha 220.
+Yashraj Talan
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This post was written by Yashraj Talan
Yashraj Talan is a teen who loves to write and express himself! Loves technology, philosophy, psychology, music and the beauty of life.
