HIGHLIGHTS
Nokia's Android experiment has finally seen the light of the day with the Nokia X, running on modified core Android OS. With its lower price point, it might just take away a chunk of Nokia Lumia 525 sales.
Nokia finally took the wraps off its secret (read: rampantly leaked and rumored) Nokia X smartphone. The X is Nokia’s version of an Android phone that is heavily modified and “forked” to omit Google services, replacing them with Nokia and Microsoft services.
The Nokia X series of handsets are offering three core USPs- Aggressive pricing, Ability to run/port Android Apps and a combination of Android Apps and Nokia services (marketed as “best of both worlds”). With (approximate) prices starting at Rs. 8,000 for the Nokia X, it is slightly less expensive compared to the
Nokia Lumia 525 (Rs. 10,370 online). Both smartphones look and feel very similar, offer the same 4-inch screen and even the UI on the Nokia X is designed to match the Windows Phone 8 tiled interface found on the Lumia 525.
As a customer looking for an affordable full-touch Nokia smartphone, you now have two very similar variants to choose from and a slight whiff of “Android Nokia” combination may just lure you towards the Nokia X. So, are sales of the Nokia Lumia 525 in danger of being cannibalized by the Nokia X series? I’d say yes.
And, while it does make sense for Nokia, as long as they are able to get the buyer to purchase either of the Nokia devices, does it do any good to Windows Phone and the Nokia Lumia entry-level series?
If the Nokia X tastes success, it might just be at the cost of the Nokia Lumia 525 more than the other budget Android smartphones in India. What do you think?