Nokia X: First impressions

New Delhi: Nokia, a soon-to-be Microsoft Company, recently launched a new series of low-cost Android smartphones for the emerging markets. The devices, having only minor differences, are known as the X, X+ and XL. While the X costs 89 euros, the X+ is available for 99 euros and the price tag for XL is 109 euros. This new smartphone family by Nokia falls somewhere between the existing Asha and Lumia series in terms of pricing and functionality.While the X will be available immediately in emerging markets, the X+ and XL will come later in the second quarter and will come in white, black, cyan, green, red and yellow. The Nokia X won't be released in North America, Japan and Korea.On the outside, the X looks like a 4-inch version of the Asha 503, as it is wrapped in the same matte polycarbonate chassis but without the transparent crystallic case surrounding it. The device is 10.4mm thick, which means it is not too short to hold in your hands and makes a comfortable fit. Overall, the phone has got all the look and feel of a regular Asha phone. The X sports a 4-inch IPS LCD WVGA (800 x 480) display, delivering good colors along with reasonable brightness and contrast. Not surprisingly, you can't expect much from a sub-100 euro device. Under the hood, the entire Nokia X family is powered by the same 1GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 chipset, with only the X somewhat limited at 512MB of RAM. Internal storage is just 4GB, but is expandable up to 32GB.The X comes with a 3MP snapper on the rear, but there's no front-facer. The device weighs 129 grams and packs a 1500mAh battery, which the company says is good for 10.5 hours of 3G talk time and a maximum standby time of 17 days. It is also capable of up to 26 hours of music playback, while video playback time is quoted at 8.4 hours.Of course, the most intriguing part of the device is the user interface, which in this case is a forked version of Android 4.1.2 that uses the standard AOSP but doesn't give access to Google's suite of services like the official Play Store, Gmail or other core apps. Instead of Google services like Gmail, Calendar, Drive and Maps, Nokia has replaced all of the core Google mobile apps with the likes of HERE Maps, its own calendar, Outlook, Skype and OneDrive. Basically, The X family can can download just about any Android app but ties directly to Microsoft's cloud and core functionality.The X launcher comprises of lined-up tiles. However, you can add folders if you're overwhelmed by apps. Despite being an Android device, the phone maintains the looks and feels of a Nokia device. The X also features a notification menu off to the side called Fastlane (a familiar terms for N9 and Asha users), giving you information regarding your favorite/most-used apps, your activities, open apps and background processes. So, if your get a text from your boss, it will show in the Fast Lane next to the activity from the app you opened last. The Fast Lane menu also has a semi-permanent menu on top that shows of stuff like Calendar invites and contacts.This Store is supposed to feature plenty of Android apps, but they're specially curated by the company.Clearly, The X series has lots of style and substance to do well in the emerging markets like India, where price sensitivity is a concern. However, success at broad level needs to be watched out!