nokiaxl
Latest
Nokia X review: What happens when Nokia makes an Android phone?
For a company now under Microsoft's rule, Nokia has serious grit. The phone maker announced an Android phone called the X just two months before completing its merger with Microsoft. Even more intriguing is the fact that this is no run-of-the-mill Android device: The X comes with a Windows Phone-like launcher, offers Microsoft services and will be sold for around $120 in developing markets. While it may not be a powerful smartphone, it has many unique qualities that help it stand out from the low-end crowd. What's it like, and should Microsoft invest in its success?
Hands-on with Nokia's X family of Android smartphones (video)
A couple of years ago, we would've said that the day Nokia announced an Android device was the day Hades froze over. The hour has come, however, and it's only slightly chilly this morning. The Nokia X is the company's inaugural Android-based devices -- three of them, in fact -- although it's been tweaked a little bit to fit Microsoft's and Nokia's preferences. The devices are known as the X, X+ (pictured above) and XL (pictured after the break), each of which differed by only a small number of factors; and at a cost of 89 euros ($122) for the X, 99 euros for the X+ and 109 euros for the XL, the family fits roughly in-between the Asha and Lumia series in terms of pricing and functionality. The X will be available immediately in growth markets (sorry, enthusiasts in the US, Korea and Japan, it won't be heading to your neck of the woods through official channels), while the X+ and XL will come later in the second quarter and will come in white, black, cyan, green, red and yellow.
Nokia introduces a third Android device, the 5-inch Nokia XL
Well, Stephen Elop is just full of surprises today. On top of two other Android devices just launched, the Nokia X and the Nokia X+, we now have the Nokia XL, a bigger 5-inch Android device. It'll have a WVGA IPS screen, a 5-megapixel rear / 2-megapixel front camera with an LED flash, 768MB of RAM and 4GB of storage, expandable via microSD. As with the X and X+, there will be no Google services or Play store, so you'll have to access apps through Nokia's store and other third-party Android markets. It'll also feature the Android version of FastLane borrowed from Asha for easy access to apps and notifications. It'll arrive sometime to emerging markets in Q2 2014 priced at 109 euros -- but not to the US, for now.
