Nokia has finally launched its much-awaited Android powered smartphone, Nokia X, in the Indian market. Targeted at the budget segment and priced just above the full-featured Asha phones, it is part of Nokia's efforts to counter low-end Android phones which are very popular in the country. Nokia X borrows a lot from both Nokia's Lumia phones as well as the Asha series in terms of design and function. We got a chance to spend some time with the phone at the launch event, here are our initial impressions of the device.
At first glance, Nokia X looks like a mix of Nokia Lumia 520/525 and Asha 503 as all these phones sport the same rectangular design and a polycarbonate colourful shell, which is a bit chunky. As soon as you notice the Asha-like capacitive button with the arrow label, you realize it is not a Windows Phone device. We got a Red colour unit to play with and the shell had a matte finish.
The front of the phone sports a 4-inch WVGA LCD display (480 X 800p, 233ppi), which looks better than the displays of Asha phones. One of the reasons you don't notice the low resolution of the display is the phone's user interface which majorly consists of tiles similar to Windows Phone.
The right edge of the phone features the volume rocker and Power/ Screen lock keys that also sport the same colour as the phone. The micro-USB port is placed at the bottom edge, while the 3.5mm headset jack sits at the top.
The back of the phone sports a 3MP camera lens and a speaker outlet. There's no LED flash so don't expect the phone to take good pictures in low-light conditions. The body shell is removable and hides a battery compartment that houses a 1,500mAh removable battery, two slots for sim cards (micro-sim) and a microSD card slot.
Nokia X comes with modest hardware, under the hood. The phone is powered by a 1GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and 512MB RAM. It comes with 4GB internal storage that can be expanded up to 32GB via microSD card.
The phone runs a highly customized version of Android (based on Android Open Source Project 4.1.2) that has been stripped of Google services and apps including the Play Store. Nokia has bundled a number of apps with the phone including BBM, Facebook, Twitter, Skype, and Opera. The phone doesn't include the Google Play store but instead offers Nokia Store for downloading apps. Third-party Android app stores can also be installed and used.
The phone's interface is very different from regular Android phones and borrows some features from Asha platform and Windows Phone. The UI is split into Fastlane and a tile-based launcher. The Fastlane aggregates notifications, open and frequently used apps, and personalizes these as per the user's preference. The other screen, accessible by swiping left or right, includes tiles (some of them being live tiles) that are similar to the Windows Phone start screen. Some of the tiles can even be resized. However, unlike Windows Phone there's no app list, and as you install apps the phone keeps on adding tiles to the same launcher. So, be ready to scroll more.
There's a pull-down tray similar to Android and Asha phones that only houses toggles for phone settings. The UI may take some time getting used to, however, it helps Nokia in differentiating the user experience from other Android phones.
Nokia X comes with Nokia's own app store, HERE Drive and Maps for location service, and Nokia MixRadio music service. Nokia is also offering 10GB free space on Microsoft's OneDrive cloud storage service.
In our brief use, we did not encounter any issues while navigating through the Fastlane and the app launcher screens and there was no lag while launching apps. We'll need to spend more time with the phone to comment on its multitasking abilities. Given the modest specifications, we don't expect the phone to run high-end graphics rich Android games.
Overall, the phone appears to offer a good experience for a budget device, complete with a rich ecosystem of apps and services, and a utilitarian yet sturdy form factor. We'll have a detailed review of the smartphone for you soon.
At first glance, Nokia X looks like a mix of Nokia Lumia 520/525 and Asha 503 as all these phones sport the same rectangular design and a polycarbonate colourful shell, which is a bit chunky. As soon as you notice the Asha-like capacitive button with the arrow label, you realize it is not a Windows Phone device. We got a Red colour unit to play with and the shell had a matte finish.
The front of the phone sports a 4-inch WVGA LCD display (480 X 800p, 233ppi), which looks better than the displays of Asha phones. One of the reasons you don't notice the low resolution of the display is the phone's user interface which majorly consists of tiles similar to Windows Phone.
The right edge of the phone features the volume rocker and Power/ Screen lock keys that also sport the same colour as the phone. The micro-USB port is placed at the bottom edge, while the 3.5mm headset jack sits at the top.
The back of the phone sports a 3MP camera lens and a speaker outlet. There's no LED flash so don't expect the phone to take good pictures in low-light conditions. The body shell is removable and hides a battery compartment that houses a 1,500mAh removable battery, two slots for sim cards (micro-sim) and a microSD card slot.
Nokia X comes with modest hardware, under the hood. The phone is powered by a 1GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and 512MB RAM. It comes with 4GB internal storage that can be expanded up to 32GB via microSD card.
The phone runs a highly customized version of Android (based on Android Open Source Project 4.1.2) that has been stripped of Google services and apps including the Play Store. Nokia has bundled a number of apps with the phone including BBM, Facebook, Twitter, Skype, and Opera. The phone doesn't include the Google Play store but instead offers Nokia Store for downloading apps. Third-party Android app stores can also be installed and used.
The phone's interface is very different from regular Android phones and borrows some features from Asha platform and Windows Phone. The UI is split into Fastlane and a tile-based launcher. The Fastlane aggregates notifications, open and frequently used apps, and personalizes these as per the user's preference. The other screen, accessible by swiping left or right, includes tiles (some of them being live tiles) that are similar to the Windows Phone start screen. Some of the tiles can even be resized. However, unlike Windows Phone there's no app list, and as you install apps the phone keeps on adding tiles to the same launcher. So, be ready to scroll more.
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There's a pull-down tray similar to Android and Asha phones that only houses toggles for phone settings. The UI may take some time getting used to, however, it helps Nokia in differentiating the user experience from other Android phones.
Nokia X comes with Nokia's own app store, HERE Drive and Maps for location service, and Nokia MixRadio music service. Nokia is also offering 10GB free space on Microsoft's OneDrive cloud storage service.
In our brief use, we did not encounter any issues while navigating through the Fastlane and the app launcher screens and there was no lag while launching apps. We'll need to spend more time with the phone to comment on its multitasking abilities. Given the modest specifications, we don't expect the phone to run high-end graphics rich Android games.
Overall, the phone appears to offer a good experience for a budget device, complete with a rich ecosystem of apps and services, and a utilitarian yet sturdy form factor. We'll have a detailed review of the smartphone for you soon.
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