At a press conference held earlier today at Mobile World Congress 2014 in Barcelona, Spain, Nokia announced its plans to release the company’s first Android-based smartphones – the Nokia X, X+ and XL. All three handsets are very much aimed at the budget end of the smartphone market, and feature specifications to match.
The Nokia X and Nokia X+ have 4-inch displays running at a resolution of 800×480 pixels, a 3-megapixel fixed focus rear camera, and dual-core 1GHz Snapdragon processors. The X has 512MB of RAM, while the X+ has 768MB of RAM. Both devices have 4GB internal storage, but the X+ can have its storage expanded via MicroSD.
The Nokia XL has slightly improved specifications: a bigger 5-inch display running at a resolution of 800×480 pixels, a 5-megapixel auto focus rear camera with LED flash, 2-megapixel front camera, dual-core 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 768MB of RAM, and 4GB internal storage – also expandable via MicroSD.
It’s also worth noting that all three models feature Dual SIM support – allowing users to switch SIM cards to get better tariffs.
Although the handsets are Android-based, they run a heavily modified version of Google’s mobile OS. In addition to homescreens sporting Windows phone-style tiles, they feature Nokia’s own curated app store, plus access to a number of other third-party marketplaces – but not Google Play. In fact, don’t expect to see any Google apps and services. Instead, Nokia is pushing a combination of its own services such as Here Maps & MixRadio, and Microsoft services such as Skype, Outlook & OneDrive.
With regards to design, the new smartphones look similar to Nokia’s higher-end Lumia range. They have polycarbonate bodies, and come in a variety of colors. The X and X+ are both available in bright green, bright red, cyan, yellow, black and white, while the XL comes in the same range of colors with the only difference being the inclusion of an orange option rather than bright red.
The Nokia X is available immediately, starting at 89 Euros (around $125) and rolling-out in Asia-Pacific, Europe, India, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. The Nokia X+ and Nokia XL are expected to roll out to the same markets during Q2, priced at 99 and 109 Euros respectively. US availability remains unknown.
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