Nokia unleashed its first Android smartphone Nokia X today at MWC. It managed to surprise us by revealing three members in its ‘X Family’ meant for emerging markets. We were eager to lay our hands to taste Nokia’s first Android based Smartphone, though the rumors had already revealed most of what was coming. Here are our initial views.
Nokia X Quick Specs
- Display Size: 4 Inch IPS LCD, 800 x 480 resolution, 233 PPI
- Processor: 1 GHz Dual Core Processor Qualcomm 8225 Snapdragon Processor
- RAM: 512 MB
- Software Version: Android AOSP
- Camera: 3 MP camera, No LED flash
- Secondary Camera: No
- Internal Storage: Less than 2 GB, Extendable up to 32 GB
- External Storage: MicroSD support up to 32 GB, 4 GB microSD card bundled with the box content
- Battery: 1500 mAh
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, aGPS,
Nokia X and X Plus Hands on, Quick Review, Features, Comparison with XL and Overview HD at MWC 2014[Video]
Design and Build quality
The design is similar to most other Asha and Lumia series devices. The Nokia X and Nokia X+ are virtually non-different from each other considering every aspect. The polycarbonate really felt good and sturdy in hand with the added advantage of several bright colors.
The size is ideal for one handed operation. The home button is a capacitive key which will take you to home screen when long pressed and to home screen otherwise. We didn’t find anything wrong with the body design when held in hand.
The display is 4 inches in size and sports WVGA resolution. The color and brightness was reasonable. We have to admit that the display looked more vibrant and better than what we have seen in other domestic branded phones under around 7 K mark.
Camera and Internal Storage
Nokia X has got a fairly basic 3 MP camera unit at the back without LED flash support. You can’t expect much from the basic camera unit. Nokia Lumia 525 and 520 would be better options if good camera hardware and software is ranked higher on your priority list.
The internal storage is disappointing. Apps are transferable to SD card and you will get 4 GB SD card out of the box with this one. Nokia is also offering 10 GB Of cloud storage, but that means little to most users in India.
Battery, Operating System and Chipset
The battery is rated at 1500 mAh. It will provide you with 10.5 hours of talk time on 3G and 408 hours of standby time which will give it a valuable edge over the competition. The Software is the highlight of this phone. The phone runs on an AOSP version of Android.
You can install Android app APKs on this device and Nokia stated that around 75 percent of Android apps will be supported by this device. Apps will definitely be more than what you have witnessed on Asha platform.
The software borrows the tiled interface from Windows platform and you can resize and move tiles across your home screen. You will also get a glance screen and Fastlane home screen which stores your recent activities. Fastlane is something we liked in Asha series devices and are happy to see in Nokia X too. Nokia loads several handy Apps and Microsoft services like Bing, Mix radio and HERE maps too.
The Snapdragon S4 with 2 cores ticking at 1 GHz was snappier than what we had expected. The UI transitions were smooth despite humble hardware and preloaded games and apps were also operating smoothly. We highly doubt that Cortex A5 based dual core 8225 SoC will maintain that smooth and responsive behavior when tested under harsher conditions.
Nokia X Photo Gallery
Conclusion
The Nokia X is not an almost perfect Android phone like Moto G and has several week points. The phone however is a compelling option in its price range. A budget phone from Nokia with a good 4 inch display capable of handling several Android Apps coupled with appreciable battery back, is a welcome offering in markets like India, where the low end smartphones are still far from offering premium experience.
