HIGHLIGHTS
The rumours were mostly true! The Nokia X phones are able to run Android apps but do not run the Android OS.
The Nokia X Android phone is finally official. Today at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop revealed three ‘X’ phones- the Nokia X, the Nokia X (4-in touchscreen with more RAM and storage on the X ) and the Nokia XL (5-in touchscreen, 5MP rear camera, 2MP front camera). However, these aren’t exactly Android phones, at least not like the ones we’ve gotten used to. Instead, the Nokia X phones will rely on the open-source nature of Android and will be able to run Android apps. This means that Android developers will be able to port their apps to these Nokia phones with ‘little effort’ (as Nokia claims). This also means that the phones will rely on Microsoft’s cloud apps and services instead of Google’s (so no Gmail, Chrome or Google Maps unless they’re specifically ported over). The phones will also support sideloading of apps and will come with Nokia’s own app store.
Pricing
Moving on, Nokia also announced the pricing of the three X-phones in Euros. The Nokia X will cost 89 Euros (Rs. 7,600 approx.), Nokia X will cost 99 Euros (Rs. 8,500 approx.) and Nokia XL will cost 109 Euros (Rs. 9,300 approx.). Nokia stated that the X phones will be launched in ‘growth’ countries which means that India (and other Asian countries), East Europe and South America will definitely see the phones while there are no launch plans for Western Europe or the U.S.
Launch Dates
Nokia said that the X will be launched immediately, so expect it come to India this or the next week. The X and the XL will be launched “early Q2” which means you can expect it in April.
Elop also answered a bunch of questions from the assembled journalists. Here’s a look at the questions and answers (image courtesy
The Verge)