Microsoft announces the launch of the Nokia X2, which can be considered as the tech company’s first Android-powered device. The X2 is an entry-level smartphone that sets its aims on emerging markets.
This is not the first time Nokia ventured to Android, as it announced the X, X+, and XL smartphones in February, before Microsoft acquired the company’s mobile phone business unit in April. The Nokia X Class line of devices–including the Nokia X2–runs on Android mobile OS, but its user interface is based on Windows Phone’s tile-based experience and has a bevy of Microsoft services.
Microsoft calls X2’s operating system as the “Nokia X software platform 2.0,” which includes three types of home screens: one that resembles Windows Phone’s Live Tiles, one that puts priority on recent apps, and one that allows users to pin content to the home screen.
Another difference from the Nokia X2 compared to your usual Android device is that this smartphone does not use any Google services and uses Microsoft’s instead. This means Gmail is replaced with Outlook.com, Google Drive is switched to OneDrive, Bing instead of Google Searceh, you get the picture. It also uses Opera’s mobile browser instead of Android’s native browser.
As for the physical specs, the Nokia X2 sports a 4.3-inch display with 800 x 480 resolution and Gorilla Glass, a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor with 1GB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage, a 5-megapixel back camera with flash and 720p HD video capture, a 0.3-megapixel front camera, a microSD card slot, and a lot of sensors and connectivity options (except 4G LTE).
The dual-SIM version Nokia X2 will be sold first in India, Indonesia, and Africa beginning July starting at $135. It is highly unlikely this smartphone will become available in North America, where Microsoft continues to sell Nokia’s Lumia-branded Windows Phones.
Source: Information Week
