So you love Windows Phone, Android and Asha but can’t seem to decide
which one to buy on a budget? Nokia has now solved your problem.
Rumours were right. We have been hearing about Nokia’s Android phones
for years now but it is only now that they’re official. The three
phones under the ‘X’ banner, the X, X+ and XL all run on open-source
Android project version 4.1.2. This is an approach similar to the one
used by Amazon for its Kindle tablets.
Nokia said that major apps will be available at launch for the Nokia X
family of devices, including Facebook, LINE Free Voice and Messages,
LINE Camera, LINE Bubble, Picsart, Plants vs. Zombies 2, Real Football
2014, Skype, Spotify, Swiftkey, Twitter, Viber, Vine and WeChat, among
others.
Moreover, a first for Nokia customers around the world, BBM will also
be available on the Nokia X family of devices in addition to Windows
Phone.
It’s quite remarkable that the company has announced three phones, since all the leaks indicated a single, starter-range model.
Nokia Experience with Microsoft Services and Google’s Apps
The OS comes with a Windows Phone-like looks on its interface. The
phone comes pre-loaded with Microsoft’s services like Skype and Outlook,
as well as other applications such as Facebook.
Google has been deliberately side-lined from the entire experience.
Why Android then? That’s because of the apps, of course. Buyers will
be able to side-load any Android APK on the phone, not just games and
apps but also launchers.
Nokia’s Fastlane is also built-in into the phone’s interface. In case
you don’t know, it gives you a track of everything going on in the
background and your history.
Based on from what we’ve seen, the interface isn’t too smooth, which
might’ve been due to the fact that the OS running is Android Jelly Bean,
rather than the newer, more customized Android.
Nokia X and X+
The first phones of the line-up are the X and X+. Both are virtually
the same, except that the latter has more internal, and expandable
storage.
The design of the phones is undeniably Asha-inspired. Those vivid
colours and replaceable backs clearly indicate the price-point and the
target audience. Dual-sim connectivity further clarifies that.
The front is adorned with a 4″ display with 800 x 480 resolution.
Below the display, you get a sole capacitive key, which takes you to the
last screen on a single tap, or the home screen on a longer one.
Under the hood, you get a 1Ghz dual-core Snapdragon processor, along
with 512 MB RAM and 4 GB of internal storage. The X+ will have
expandable memory and 768 MB RAM. At the back is a sole 3 megapixel
fixed-focus camera.
The phones are also quite compact, being 1 cm thick and weighing
129g, meaning they’ll fit in your palm quite comfortably. The 1,500 mAh
battery will allow up to 10.3 hours of 3G talk time.
The price of the Nokia X and X+ are 89 Euros (12,800 PKR) and 99 Euros (14,200 PKR) respectively.
As expected, the phone will be released only in developing markets such as Asia including Pakistan, Nokia has told, in Q2.
Nokia XL
The XL is certainly a phone we weren’t expecting. It is the top-end
smartphone which also runs on forked Android 4.1.2 but sits one slot
above the Nokia X+, in the territory of the Lumia 520.
Coming with a substantially larger 5″ display with the same WVGA
resolution, the Nokia XL features the same capacitive key at the bottom
of the display.
Under the hood, you get the same 1Ghz dual-core Snapdragon processor
with 4 GB internal storage but 768 MB RAM this time. At the back lies a 5
megapixel auto-focus camera with LED Flash, along with a 2 megapixel
camera at the front.
The phone will hit emerging markets in Q2 of this year for 109 Euros or about 15,700 PKR.
With the X series, Nokia is giving its fan-base yet another option to
join the family. Whether it will be successful remains a matter of
debate and we can’t say anything for sure until we’ve tried it out for
ourselves.
Here are specs for Nokia X Series Smartphones: