Nokia has launched its new family of budget smartphones based on Android called the Nokia X Series and the first three smartphones to get launched are the Nokia X, Nokia X+ and the Nokia XL.
Nokia has introduced its all-new family of budget smartphones called the #Nokia X Series.
And the first three devices that have been officially presented at the on-going Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain are the Nokia X, Nokia X+ and Nokia XL, all of which run on the brand new Nokia X software that is based on Google’s Android.
The interesting bit however, is the fact that these budget smartphone are not pure Android phones, but instead run on a forked variant of Android – similar to the way Amazon does for its Kindle Fire line-up. All three smartphones are running AOSP – Android Open Source Project Code – which means they are Android devices, but without any services and apps from Google.
The Nokia X Series smartphones come pre-loaded with Nokia and Microsoft services including, navigation with Here Maps, MixRadio for music, Outlook.com email, one month of free calls on Skype and access to cloud storage with 10GB of free OneDrive space.
User interface-wise, #NokiaX has deliberately matched it to the one seen in Lumia devices. There is a glance screen showing the time and notifications. You swipe to the left to get your tile-based home screen, which is customisable, much like any Windows Phone. There’s also Nokia’s unified stream called Fastlane, which puts notifications and recent apps together for quick access.
Feature-wise, the Nokia X and the Nokia X+ have dual-SIM functionality and comes with 4-inch 480X800 displays and are powered by 1GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor. Both have identical 4GB internal storage, which can be expanded up to 32GB via microSD card. Power comes via a 1,500mAh battery. The Nokia X comes with 512MB RAM, while the Nokia X+ comes with 768MB RAM. Both phones have a 3 megapixel rear camera and no front shooter.
The Nokia XL on the other hand, features a 5-inch 480X800 display, a 5-megapixel camera, a 720 pixel front camera, 768MB RAM and 2,000mAh battery, while sharing other specifications with its younger siblings. Connectivity features on all three devices include, 3G support and Wi-Fi and all three smartphones take Micro-SIMs instead of regular ones.
Furthermore, the Nokia X, X+ and XL will also come pre-loaded with popular apps like Facebook, Twitter, Vine, BBM and Plants Vs Zombies. While, users can always get more apps downloaded from the Nokia store, they can also download apps from third-parry store partners such as the Russian Yandex Store and Slideme. In addition it will also be possible to side load apps using MicroSD card.
The Nokia X will immediately go on sale with prices starting at 89 euros or Rs 7,500 approximately in Asia-Pacific, Europe, India Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. The Nokia X+ and the Nokia XL however, are expected to go on sale in the aforementioned markets during the second quarter of 2014 with a price tag of 99 euros or Rs 8,400 approximately and 109 euros or Rs 9,300 approximately.
All the three Nokia devices from the X Series are aimed at emerging markets and will be positioned as entry-level smartphones globally – that will act as feeder for the Nokia Lumia brand.
Nokia is of the opinion that users will get used to Microsoft’s services with the X family and will then later, upgrade to Lumia devices down the line. To that end, the Nokia X smartphones have been priced cheaper than the Lumia line-up and the same strategy will be followed in India as well.
