Android-based Nokia X smartphone to launch in India on March 10 for Rs 8,500

By Shruti Dhapola /  06 Mar 2014 , 16:42

Nokia’s Android smartphone, the Nokia X will be available in India on 15 March and is priced at Rs 8,500. The smartphone is already listed online on The Mobile Store’s website . Currently the date and the price of the smartphone have been removed from the online site.

The listing was first spotted by Maktechblog.com, which showed the date as 15 March and the price as Rs 8,500. While the phone will officially be available from 15 March, Nokia is hosting a media event to launch the device on 10 March where it will officially announce all the prices.

Nokia had announced three Android smartphones as part of the X series at the Mobile World Congress last month. The devices will be known as the X, X+ and XL and Nokia had said at the time of the launch that the smartphones would be available ‘very soon’ in India. Nokia also said that the Nokia X would start retailing for 89 euros (approx Rs 7,600), the X+ for 99 euros (approx Rs 8,400) and would hit stores in Q2 this year.

Nokia X and X+ have four-inch screens, while the Nokia XL has a 5-inch phone. The Nokia X and X+ feature 4-inch displays with a 800×480 pixel resolution. Nokia did not announce the chipsets on stage, but both phones have a Snapdragon S4 SoC with a dual-core processor clocked at 1GHz.

There’s 512MB of RAM on the Nokia X, while the X+ gets 768MB of RAM. Both have 4GB internal storage and the ability to take in micro SD cards up to 32GB in capacity.

The camera however, is a disappointing 3-megapixel on the rear and there’s no front-facing camera. Both phones have a 1500 mAh battery, rated for around 13 hours of talk time on 2G and 17 days standby time. In terms of connectivity, the X and X+ have dual SIM slots, 3G cellular data, Wi-Fi b/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0.   The Nokia X is available in its Black, Green, Cyan, Yellow, Red, and White colour variants.

Nokia XL has 768MB RAM, 5MP auto-focus camera with LED flash on the back and 2MP front camera. It also has a Snapdragon S4 processor.

The phones run Android, although Nokia has tied up the login and app data to Microsoft’s cloud services. The phones run a version of Android Open Source Project, with access to sideloading of apps, third-party app stores and Nokia’s own store.

Users will get Skype, Outlook and OneDrive on these phones, while search is powered by Bing. Users will also get one month of free Skype calls to mobiles and landlines when they purchase the Nokia X.

Nokia X hacked to run Google Play Store

The Nokia X has been hacked to run the Google Play Store and key Google services. Image courtesy: XDA developers forum

NEW DELHI: Nokia X, the recently announced series of smartphones that run a heavily modified version of Android, has been hacked to run the Google Play Store and key Google services. 

While Nokia has replaced key APIs and services, including Google's Maps and applications marketplace, with its own apps and Microsoft's services, an XDA ddevelopers forum member has posted a way to root the Nokia X so that it could run the Google launcher, Play Store and other Google apps, including Gmail and Maps. 

One of the reasons why the apps work is that Nokia has apparently left the application framework untouched in order to allow apps from third-party app stores work on the phone. 

Nokia has mentioned on its official SDK page that the phone will be able to run around 75%Android apps without any modifications. Developers only need to make changes if their apps use Google services for push notifications, maps or in-app payments. 

It's worth pointing out that rooting the phone will void its warranty. Also, unlike Android, Google's own suite of apps are not open source, so technically, it's not legal. 

With the Nokia X series, the handset giant is targeting the budget segment - just above its Asha series and just below the Windows Phone-run Lumia series - trying to leverage Android's app ecosystem, which is comparatively richer than Windows Phone. 

It is also worth noting that Nokia's handsets division has been acquired by Microsoft and the transaction will be complete in a few weeks. It's not clear if Microsoft will continue with the X-series as it runs an OS developed by its arch rival, Google.

Nokia X budget Android phone reportedly spotted with 3-megapixel camera

Nokia X, the rumoured budget Android smartphone also known as Nokia Normandy, has been again spotted under a benchmark which tests the camera section of the handset.

Nokia X has been spotted under the CamSpeed test database, the benchmark test for Sophica with a nearly zero focusing time, hinting the rumoured Android device will come with a fixed focus camera. The device was identified with model name RM-980 once again.

The Nokia X handset, handset was previously said to sport a 5-megapixel rear camera, however the CamSpeed benchmark hints the handset will arrive with a lower 3-megapixel shooter.

Similarly, contradicting the previous rumours of running a highly customized version of Android 4.4 Kitkat OS, the Nokia X will be running Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean OS, according to Sofica's Twitter post.

Also last week, a new leak via Browsermark 2 benchmark's database purportedly revealed the alleged Nokia X phone to come with model number RM-980. Unfortunately, the listing did not reveal any details about the device, but includes an image that purportedly showed Nokia X wearing Nexus 5's wallpaper and home screen icons.

Some of the other rumoured features of the Nokia X smartphone include a dual-core Snapdragon processor clocking at 1GHz, a 4-inch TFT display with a resolution of 480x854 (FWVGA) pixels, 4GB storage with microSD card, 1500mAh battery, 512MB RAM, and dual-SIM support.

Besides the often appearing leaks online, one can almost confirm the existence of the handset through various other sources. Recently enough, Nokia X was reported to get certified in Indonesia and Malaysia. The handset is said to fall under Nokia's Asha line-up and will be unveiled officially in March, according to a report claiming to quote an unnamed senior Nokia India executive.

Nokia X budget Android phone reportedly certified in Indonesia, Malaysia

Nokia's anticipated Android-powered handset, the Nokia X (also known as Nokia Normandy), has continued to stay in the news, and now new reports indicate the handset has been certified in Indonesia and Malaysia.

It is being reported that a Nokia device with a model number RM-980 (previously spotted in a benchmark listing) has been spotted at Malaysia's certification body, soon after it was noted that the same device had been spotted at Indonesia's certification agency.

Recently enough, the Nokia X handset was said to fall under the Nokia's Asha device line-up. Reports state an unnamed senior executive officer from Nokia India, who reportedly also confirmed that the much-rumoured dual-SIM Windows Phone device, aka Moneypenny, would be launched in the country at the same time.

Some of the specifications are also rumoured for the handset. The Nokia X will apparently be powered by a dual-core Snapdragon processor clocking at 1GHz. While the precise SoC is not known yet, some previous rumours indicate the handset will feature a Snapdragon 200 8225Q.

Other leaked specifications, as shared by @evleaks, include a 4-inch TFT display with a resolution of 480x854 (FWVGA) pixels, 5-megapixel rear camera, 4GB storage with microSD card, 1500mAh battery, 512MB RAM, and dual-SIM support.

The handset is said to run a highly customised version of Android 4.4 KitKat also feature Nokia's own application store on board, similar to what Amazon has done with its Kindle Fire tablets.

The Nokia X is also rumoured to come with dual-SIM support, while connectivity options including 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPRS, EDGE, AGPS and Micro-USB. Other specifications include 4GB of inbuilt storage and Adreno 302 GPU.