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Nokia has launched their first family of phones running on Android (sort of) at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2014.

The reason why I say “Android (sort of)” is because there is no Google Play services in the Nokia X family of phones, instead it is been replaced by Microsoft Services.

The Nokia X goes in-between the Nokia Asha and Nokia Lumia bringing Nokia ranges of phone to four: Nokia, Nokia Asha, Nokia X and Nokia Lumia.

The Nokia X Software Platform which is the OS behind Nokia X, Nokia X+ and Nokia XL is a forked off Android Open Source Project (AOSP) based on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean).

The first three phones to be launched under the Nokia X Platform are the Nokia X, Nokia X+ and Nokia XL.

The Nokia X will retail for €89 (~S$155) starting from today while the Nokia X+ will retail for €99 (~S$173) and the Nokia XL for €109 (~S$190) from Q2 2014.
Nokia X and Nokia X+ looks exactly the same, the only difference is the RAM (512MB vs 768MB). Nokia XL on the other hand is an upsize Nokia X+ boosting a 5″, better rear camera, font-facing camera, LED flash and higher capacity battery.

Nokia X/Nokia X+

• OS: Nokia X Software Platform
• Processor: 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Dual Core processor
• RAM: 512MB (Nokia X), 768MB (Nokia X+)
• Storage: 4GB (Expandable up to 32GB using MicroSD card). Free 7GB Microsoft OneDrive
• Screen: 4″ IPS WVGA (800 x 480) (233 ppi) (two-point touch)
• Camera (Rear): 3MP (2048 x 1536)
• Camera (Front): N/A
• Flash: N/A
• Wireless: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 + HS
• Sensors: GPS+AGPS, Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, Proximity sensor
• SIM: Dual SIM, using Micro SIM
• Dimension (mm): 115.5 x 63 x 10.4 (Height x Width x Thickness)
• Weight: 128.7g
• Battery capacity: 1,500 mAh
• Standby Time: 28.5 days (2G), 22 days (3G)

6 colors of the Nokia X/X+ will be available: Black, Cyan, Green, Red, White & Yellow.

Nokia XL

• OS: Nokia X Software Platform
• Processor: 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Dual Core processor
• RAM: 768MB
• Storage: 4GB (Expandable up to 32GB using MicroSD card). Free 7GB Microsoft OneDrive
• Screen: 5″ IPS WVGA (800 x 480) (187 ppi) (multi-point touch)
• Camera (Rear): 5MP (2592 x 1944)
• Camera (Front): 1.3MP (1600 x 1200)
• Flash: LED Flash
• Wireless: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 + HS
• Sensors: GPS+AGPS, Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, Proximity sensor
• SIM: Dual SIM, using Micro SIM
• Dimension (mm): 141.4 x 77.7 x 10.9 (Height x Width x Thickness)
• Weight: 190g
• Battery capacity: 2,000 mAh
• Standby Time: 41 days (2G), 26 days (3G)

6 colors of the Nokia XL will be available: Black, Cyan, Green, Orange, White & Yellow. If you notice, instead of red, Nokia XL replaces it with Orange.

Android Apps
Nokia X apps can be downloaded from the native Nokia store which will contain curated Android apps for Nokia X.

You can side-load most of the Android apps if you have the Android application package file (APK) but I don’t think it will be easy to side-load Google Play services/store apps easily.

During the Q&A, there was a question asked whether the bootloader of the Nokia X phones will be locked, but the guy answering did not really answer the question and hence, I am pretty sure it will be locked.

I think it will be a matter of time before the guys at XDA Developers will be able to root and flash CyanogenMod on it.

Conclusion
Nokia X is Microsoft attempt to reach out to Android users letting them know about it’s services. The price point is sweet, a good alternative to Xiaomi’s Redmi. But if you are a user that goes for high-end Android devices, you will probably not be interested in Nokia X.

Also an unknown factor here is whether Nokia X will still continue in the near future after Microsoft purchase of Nokia has been completed since having four different mobile operating system doesn’t seem to be the One Microsoft Vision.