Nokia has officially joined the Android world. The company just made Nokia X official – surprisingly, Nokia’s new Android line is actually a series with three devices aimed at “growth markets” – the Nokia X, X+ and XL. The phones run Android, but integrate with Nokia and Microsoft services instead of Google’s own, while still allowing the phones to run Android Apps.
Promotion of the new devices heavily centered on the unique services that the Microsoft/Nokia relationship provide like Here Maps, MixRadio and Outlook. Microsoft’s newly-renamed OneDrive cloud storage service performs backups of photos, with 7GB of OneDrive space being offered out of the box. Microsoft-owned Skype also features heavily, with a months free calls to international Landlines being included in selected markets.
A range of third party Android Apps such as BBM, Plants vs. Zombies 2, Viber, Vine and Twitter will be pre-loaded on the phones, and more apps will be offered through the Nokia Store. Additional third party app stores like Yandex and Slideme – and presumably Amazon – will also be available, with the additional option to sideload APKs from the file manager included.
As expected, the Nokia X phones will run a very Windows Phone-like tile interface, but with the familiar widgets and folders of Android still available. The Nokia X series also has ‘Fast Lane’ which is a list of ongoing activities on your phone which accesses even web services to update you on the world around you.
All three devices will run Qualcomm Snapdragon dual core processors, and with developing markets seen as the key battleground they will all have dual SIM capabilities to better accommodate users in those markets.
Full Hardware Specs
|
|
Nokia X |
Nokia X+ |
Nokia XL |
|
Screen |
4-inch IPS LCD, 800 x 480px |
4-inch IPS LCD, 800 x 480px |
5-inch IPS LCD, 800 x 480px |
|
RAM |
512MB |
768MB |
768MB |
|
Storage |
Up to 32GB |
Up to 32GB |
Up to 32GB |
|
Rear camera |
3-megapixel fixed focus |
3-megapixel fixed focus |
5-megapixel with autofocus and flash |
|
Front camera |
– |
– |
2-megapixel |
|
Processor |
8225 Qualcomm Snapdragon 1GHz Dual Core |
8225 Qualcomm Snapdragon 1GHz Dual Core |
8225 Qualcomm Snapdragon 1GHz Dual Core |
|
Networks |
ESGM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 WCDMA 900 / 2100 |
ESGM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 WCDMA 900 / 2100 |
ESGM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 WCDMA 900 / 2100 |
|
Dimensions |
115.5 x 63 x 10.4mm |
115.5 x 63 x 10.4mm |
141.3 x 77.7 x 10.8mm |
|
Weight |
128.66g |
128.66g |
190g |
|
Standby time |
2G = Up to 28.5 days 3G = Up to 22 days |
2G = Up to 28.5 days 3G = Up to 22 days |
2G = Up to 41 days 3G = Up to 26 days |
|
Talk time |
2G = Up to 13.3 hours 3G = Up to 10.5 hours |
2G = Up to 13.3 hours 3G = Up to 10.5 hours |
2G = Up to 16 hours 3G = Up to 13 hours |
| Colours | Bright Green, Bright Red, Cyan, Yellow, Black and White | Bright Green, Bright Red, Cyan, Yellow, Black and White | Bright Green, bright Orange, Cyan, Yellow, Black and white |
Availability
The Nokia X will be available immediately for €89, X+ and XL will be in Q2, with the X+ available for €99 and the XL for €109. Nokia has said that availability will be broad but they will begin with “growth markets”.
Further details
At the end of the announcement, Nokia ran a Q&A session, some interesting ones:
Q: Will the Nokia X have an unlocked Bootloader?
A: It runs on Android open-source platform. We’ve built the Nokia user experience on top of that.
Q: Can you sideload Google Apps onto the Nokia X?
A: Yes, but there’s certain Google apps that use certain APIs. The vast majority run out of the box, but if certain apps call certain APIs that have been replaced then there might be a recompile needed to run on the Nokia X.
Q: Can you sideload custom launchers?
A: You can sideload any APK file onto the device.
Australian Release?
We received an official statement from Nokia Australia on the Nokia X series:
With regards to local availability, Australia is part of our future plans for Nokia X and we will be evaluating its suitability for the Australian market with our channel partners.
… so there’s no firm commitment on a release window or price there, but it doesn’t sound like it’ll be difficult to get your hands on a Nokia X if the new devices are tickling your fancy.
No 850 3G so won’t work on Telstra network….annoying as this looks interesting!
Not a bad attempt given the price. The resolution and ram is 2 generations behind and that will put a lot of people off.
But it will be a good replacement for the Asha range which were cheap but badly designed.
GO Nokia !!!
Umm, 800 x 480 on a 5″ screen? Can’t see that selling well despite of the low price. However good to see Nokia doing something a little different.
For the 5in XL: 109 Euros = $167 AUD. Definitely cheaper than a mid range Android phone like the Moto G at around $249.
Android apps without access to Google’s services is gonna make it a difficult proposition for me to be honest.
I wonder if Android handles things like background syncing for apps that require it. I also didn’t notice which search engine is integrated, Google or Bing.
I think it has a good chance of success in emerging markets where traditional Android phones don’t have a foothold yet.
does it seem the spokesperson actually avoided directly answering most of the questions..
1. unlocked bootloader? It’s android (so maybe, or maybe not??)
2. Google Apps? Kind of, if you have the source code to those Google apps (so probably not)
3. Custom launchers? if it’s a normal APK, doesn’t use Google Apps API and doesn’t require unlocked bootloader changes, then may be yes…
Agreed, response 1 was evasive. The second point however refers to the exclusion of Google Mobile Services. If the App relies on those API calls (maps, for example) they will not work.
If it’s been re-compiled to work with Microsoft/Nokia’s services, (HERE Maps as an example) it will work fine.
To late…. Too outdated specs…..too ugly….. Better get moto g
But this isn’t aimed at people wanting an “Android” phone, this is aimed at people walking into a shop and wanting a /phone/.