Nokia Turns To Android For Affordable “Next Billion” Smartphones With Nokia X Family
Nokia famously went all in with Microsoft when it decided to ditch its own OS and sell smartphones running Windows Phone, but the company has opted to add Android handsets to its roster as well in an effort to capitalize on the growing and vast low end smartphone market.
Referred to as the “next billion”customers, the developing world is ripe for the picking when it comes to smartphones, and Nokia wants to be a player with five new handsets.
Nokia X
“Our deliberate approach is to offer four tiers of products including our affordable entry-level devices like the new Nokia 220; our entry-level Asha touch phones like the new Nokia Asha 230; our new Nokia X, Nokia X+ and Nokia XL smartphones primarily for growth economies; and our Lumia portfolio, which is where we introduce the greatest innovation and provide full compatibility with the Microsoft experience," said Nokia CEO Stephen Elop.
There are two new Asha handsets, the Nokia Asha 230 and the Nokia 220. The 230 is a full touch device priced at approximately $62 USD and includes dual SIM, a camera, and 7GB of Microsoft OneDrive storage. The 220 has a 2.4-inch color display, Dual SIM, and comes preloaded with Facebook, Twitter, and the Nokia Xpress browser with Bing search. The Nokia 220 will cost about $40 USD, and both phones will be immediately available in Europe, Asia-Pacific, India, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa.
Nokia is looking to provide an “on ramp”to its higher-end Lumia handsets with the Nokia X, Nokia X+, and Nokia XL smartphones. These devices have a similar look to the Lumia Windows Phone handsets and even have a Windows Phone-ish tile system.
Nokia XL
The Nokia X and Nokia X+ are identical except that the former has 512MB RAM while the latter offers 768MB RAM. They both have a 4-inch (800x480) display, Dual SIM, 3MP (2048x1536) camera, and 1GHz Snapdragon S4 processor. There’s also a 3.5mm audio jack, micro USB connector, USB 2.0, Bluetooth 3.0, and WiFi. You can customize the home screen, download Android apps, use GPS, and enjoy Nokia apps.
The Nokia XL is similar but has a 5-inch display (with the same low res, unfortunately) and a 5MP camera and a second 2MP front camera.
The Nokia X ($122), Nokia X+ ($136), and Nokia XL ($150) are rolling out to Asia-Pacific, Europe, India, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa soon.
Referred to as the “next billion”customers, the developing world is ripe for the picking when it comes to smartphones, and Nokia wants to be a player with five new handsets.
Nokia X
“Our deliberate approach is to offer four tiers of products including our affordable entry-level devices like the new Nokia 220; our entry-level Asha touch phones like the new Nokia Asha 230; our new Nokia X, Nokia X+ and Nokia XL smartphones primarily for growth economies; and our Lumia portfolio, which is where we introduce the greatest innovation and provide full compatibility with the Microsoft experience," said Nokia CEO Stephen Elop.
There are two new Asha handsets, the Nokia Asha 230 and the Nokia 220. The 230 is a full touch device priced at approximately $62 USD and includes dual SIM, a camera, and 7GB of Microsoft OneDrive storage. The 220 has a 2.4-inch color display, Dual SIM, and comes preloaded with Facebook, Twitter, and the Nokia Xpress browser with Bing search. The Nokia 220 will cost about $40 USD, and both phones will be immediately available in Europe, Asia-Pacific, India, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa.
Nokia is looking to provide an “on ramp”to its higher-end Lumia handsets with the Nokia X, Nokia X+, and Nokia XL smartphones. These devices have a similar look to the Lumia Windows Phone handsets and even have a Windows Phone-ish tile system.
Nokia XL
The Nokia X and Nokia X+ are identical except that the former has 512MB RAM while the latter offers 768MB RAM. They both have a 4-inch (800x480) display, Dual SIM, 3MP (2048x1536) camera, and 1GHz Snapdragon S4 processor. There’s also a 3.5mm audio jack, micro USB connector, USB 2.0, Bluetooth 3.0, and WiFi. You can customize the home screen, download Android apps, use GPS, and enjoy Nokia apps.
The Nokia XL is similar but has a 5-inch display (with the same low res, unfortunately) and a 5MP camera and a second 2MP front camera.
The Nokia X ($122), Nokia X+ ($136), and Nokia XL ($150) are rolling out to Asia-Pacific, Europe, India, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa soon.
