Ever wondered what a cross between an Android and a Microsoft Windows Phone would look like? Well, Nokia seems to think fusing them together would be a hit. Their new “X” line of smartphone puts in a forked Android system and dresses it up with their Windows Phone interface. How it goes? I took home a demo unit of the Nokia X with me (as well as the other attendees from yesterday’s Nokia X launch) to fully experience their new smartphone.
Packaging
The Nokia X packaging comes in a very small box. I like it when companies do away with unnecessary space on their product packaging. Nokia lay the phone snugly at the top while the charger, the Nokia Stereo Headset WH-108, the Nokia Care slip and Manual are placed under.
The Hardware
The Nokia X I got was the bright red variant. The other color variants are bright green, black and white. I love the feel of the polycarbonate plastic on hand. As a whole, the construction feels solid and sturdy. The buttons on the side feels responsive. The 4″ WGA capacitive touchscreen offers decent readability in different angles even with a modest 800 X 480 pixels resolution.
At first, I was wondering how I could access the battery and micro-sim slots. Reading the manual, I found out I just have to pop-out the main phone hardware from the case by pushing the mid-back portion of the phone. How convenient that I can change the case with a different color if I want in the future. In the meantime I’m looking at the hardware.
- 4″ capacitive touchscreen
- 1 Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon Dual Core Processor
- 512MB RAM
- 3MP fixed focus camera
- Dual micro-sim
- MicroSD expandable memory (up to 32GB)
- 1500 mAH battery
- Satellite GPS
- Accelerometer
The Nokia X System
It is Nokia’s first foray into the Android system. It chunks in the goods from Microsoft Windows phone – the Here Maps, One Drive and Skype to name a few, the Live Tiles interface and what they call the Fastlane where recent notifications and apps used are lined up in sequence. Under the hood when you go to the settings, the familiar Android interface is there.
For first time Android or IOS users there’s a slight learning curve there but it’s really easy to grasp. One qualm I have on this one though is that there’s no Google Sync or a Microsoft Live account Sync if I have my contacts online. There’s no Google Play, only the Nokia X App Store available. Fortunately, the X supports third-party stores if you are looking for other Android Apps not available in the native store. Nokia X is capable of sideloading Android applications. Like for Instagram where I just loaded in the APK (Application Package File) in the phone and it was able to install and function without a problem. On the Nokia X, there are already some preloaded apps installed like Skype, Facebook, Twitter and Viber. The rest are just games.
Initial Impressions
I haven’t fully played around with the Nokia X to explore its full features but so far, I’m liking this system of trying to integrate the strength of Android’s wealthy app resource into a Windows Phone-like environment. At it’s price point of Php 5990, I think this Nokia X strikes the right balance between features and affordability. In the low-end market we may see some impressive specs but I can attest to Nokia’s quality in terms of hardware as my Nokia phones have lasted years before it broke. The Nokia X also promises extensive battery life of up to 22-days standby time for a 1500mAH replaceable battery. Now that’s something I have to try.
The Nokia X is now available in the Philippines for the standard retail price of Php 5990. It comes in bright green, bright red, black and white colors.
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