Nokia launches the X, X+, and XL at MWC
by Joshua Ho & Ian Cutress on February 25, 2014 4:01 AM EST- Posted in
- Trade Shows
- Nokia
- Android
- Android 4.1
- MWC 2014
Nokia X
Nokia has finally launched the long-rumored Nokia X running Android, and it's well worth going over Nokia's first Android phones. The first phone is the Nokia X, which is an MSM8225-platform device, with a dual core 1 GHz Cortex A5 inside and Adreno 203 GPU. There's 4GB of internal storage and 512 MB of RAM. The display is a WVGA IPS panel at 4" in size, and there's a 1500 mAh, 3.7V battery inside of the phone. The camera is a 3MP, fixed focus unit with a 1/5" sensor size and F/2.8 aperture, and video recording is limited to FWVGA. Needless to say, this is a budget device, and at 89 EUR or so, it could be an interesting device.
On the software side, the Nokia X runs Android 4.1.2 with Nokia's skin on top that makes it look like Windows Phone.
Nokia X+
The Nokia X+ is effectively identical to the Nokia X, the sole difference that I have seen is that the X+ has 768MB of RAM, and will go on sale for 99 EUR.
Nokia XL
The Nokia XL is slightly different from either the X or the X+. Battery capacity goes up to 2000 mAh, the camera is upgraded to a 5MP module with 1/4" sensor and adjustable (auto) focus. The display is also made to 5", but it remains the same WVGA resolution with IPS display technology. It will cost 109 EUR.
All of these phones also have Dual SIM capabilities, and will have Nokia's suite of applications at launch.
Nokia X Development
In the Nokia Developer Keynote today, the platform for Nokia X was explained at a high level in order to answer a number of questions that were asked since the recent announcement. Simply put, the extra Nokia layer over the base modifiable Android system should not interfere with Android mobile development. App developers will have to submit their apps to the Nokia X store, but Nokia expects 99% of all apps to work straight away. A system is set up such that any developer APK can be checked online in a few minutes – upload and get an answer if it will work. Nokia Store validation will take a little longer when the app is submitted (Lunagames stated that Highway Hei$t took a day). Also of note was the discussion regarding strategy.
Due to Nokia X positioning itself in emerging markets as a user’s first/second smartphone, and in regions where users might not have access to credit cards, the focus is on carrier billing. Nokia are providing a module for APK development to help enable this.
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Wolfpup - Tuesday, February 25, 2014 - link
Eh, I was momentarily excited until I read these were Android phones. If they were stock Android, then maybe, but I really like their Windows Phones. Still, if it helps the company...DracheMitch - Tuesday, February 25, 2014 - link
Nokia, and Stephen Elop, have said over and over again it uses AOSP. How is this not stock Android? Because it uses a custom launcher? Factually, Google has removed the launcher from being part of AOSP.Alexvrb - Friday, February 28, 2014 - link
Google has removed a LOT of stuff from AOSP and moved it to GMS. In fact, by itself AOSP is pretty worthless. They did this to discourage forks - they aren't the friends to open source many people once thought they were. You can't use bit and pieces of GMS, you have to sign on to the whole deal, and thus funnel money to Google through their services.Nokia has had to invest a lot of time and energy building equivalent pieces to replace stuff that Google now puts in GMS. In some cases there is an older, outdated version in AOSP that doesn't really get maintained anymore (like location service). Factors like that contribute to why it is based off an older version, it would take quite a bit of time and effort to update further, especially as they continue to migrate vital functionality to GMS.
Still, the fact is that most developers still target semi-old versions of Android, so as they say most apps should run fine once they're on the Nokia marketplace. But I still don't see the point of this device... it seems to compete with low-end WP8 devices, and you're not really encouraging developers to port apps to WP this way. But I guess it makes about as much sense as anything I've seen in the Asha line in this same price range.
HangFire - Wednesday, February 26, 2014 - link
This article misses the fact that it's not just a WP8-like skin on top, but all the Google based services underneath have been replaced by Nokia or Microsoft based services. The end result is a very un-android-like experience while retaining very close compatibility for Android Apps, minor changes are necessary. App developers will rush to expand their market into expanding markets, and bring themselves on step closer to being actual WP developers. It's the ultimate embrace, extend... and extinguish.