After months of speculations and leaks, Nokia has formally announced Nokia X family of Android phones that instead of coming with Google services, comes with Microsoft services and user interface, as well as Nokia apps. Three phones has been announced, namely NokiaX, Nokia+ and NokiaXL.
Let’s look at the specifications:
- SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual core @ 1 GHz
- System Memory – 512 MB RAM (Nokia X), or 768 MB RAM (Nokia X+/XL)
- Storage – 4GB NAND flash + micro SD card up to 32 GB
- Display
- Nokia X/X+ – 4″ IPS LCD touch screen – WVGA (800 x 480)
- Nokia XL – 5″ IPS LCD touch screen – WVGA (800 x 480)
- Connectivity – Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 + HS
- Cellular Networking – GSM: 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 1900 MHz, WCDMA: 900 MHz, 2100 MHz. Dual (micro) SIM card slots.
- Camera
- Nokia X/X+ – 3MP (2048×1536) fixed focus
- Nokia XL – 5MP (2592×1944) auto focus
- Power
- Nokia X/X+ – 1500 mAh battery. Maximum standby time with dual SIM: 17 days, Maximum talk time (2G): 13.3 h, Maximum talk time (3G): 10.5 h, Maximum music playback time: 26 h
- Nokia XL – 2000 mAh battery. Maximum standby time with dual SIM: 30 days, Maximum talk time (2G): 16 h, Maximum talk time (3G): 13 h, Maximum music playback time: 37 h
- Dimensions
- Nokia X and Nokia X+ – 115.5 mm x 63 mm x 10.4 mm
- Nokia XL – 141.4 mm x 77.7 mm x 10.9 mm
- Weight – Nokia X/X+: 128.7 g, Nokia XL: 190g
The phones run Android 4.1.2 AOSP, with Nokia X software platform 1.0, and the company claims 75% of Android apps are currently compatible. For obvious reasons, it won’t ship with Google services (Google Play, Google Maps…), but instead use Nokia store, Microsoft services, and things like Nokia’s @here maps. The user’s interface just looks like Windows Phones of Lumia family.
From the specifications, it’s clear Nokia aims at the low-end of the market, and Nokia X will sell for 89 Euros. You can find further details on Nokia X page.
If you are a developer for Android app, the good news is that you app may just work. You can check this by downloading apks to Android app compability analyzer. I’ve checked with one apk I had on hand, and I’m glad to announce Flappy Bird is apparently compatible with Nokia X!
If you app happens to be incompatible, visit Nokia X developer for information and download links the tools to modify your Android app, or create new Nokia X apps.
Nokia X promo video:
You can also watch the recording of Nokia’s press conference at Mobile World Congress 2014.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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They should have called it the Frankenfone.
Can’t help thinking they’re going to cause a lot of confusion with your average phone user. It looks like Win Mobile, but isn’t and won’t run it’s apps. But you can run android apps, just you can’t access the main store for them.
Why oh why?
Well… for sure Microsoft must have some kind of strategy… this looks more to be a test to the market.
Having said that, is really a shame they did not make the weight for the Nokia X/X+ less than 100 grams… If that was the case, for sure I will buy a X+.
And the Nokia XL = 190g ???
this is crazy, just remember that Huawei has now a 7″ tablet that weights around 220 grams with a 5000mAh battery….
No worries, if you don’t like the OS I’m sure you’ll be able to flash stock Android on it. Bootloader might be locked but that can be unlocked I guess or other methods can be found to change the Microsoftified UI.
Of course the average user won’t do this but hey, at least with Android you can hack it whereas with Windows Phone it was doomed to run the stock OS.
while back the european competition commission was fining microsoft for bundling things to stop competition.
perhaps they can again be persuaded to step in and get rid of locking for instance plus other obstacles to multiple OS. but nokia being euro they might be a little less inclined to act.
you think after all this time they would come out with a bang. i seen $45 firefox os phones with better specs and no google play store
@adem
Well actually no, you can’t really get a similar phone for less than say … $60 and that’s directly from the Chinese and for a no-name version.
I’d say this is worth $80 given that it’s a Nokia and the price or 90 euro in the EU is fair even though nothing to write home about.
looking at specs it really hurts my eyes its that low and no google play store but it uses android apps ???? you can tell that they not just going to rip you off with purchasing this phone but also rip you off when you want decent apps. if this was 10 years ago when NOKIA was NOKIA and there was no decent opposition it would of been a good price.
Considering the way Google force users to use their services I’d like to see an android device google-services-free but really not this way… seems that we jump out of the frying pan into the fire.
Nokia X Android phone just listed on DX – http://www.dx.com/p/nokia-x-nokia-platform-android-4-1-wcdma-dual-core-bar-phone-w-4-0-screen-gps-mixradio-black-316996