US$120 Nokia X along with US$135 Nokia X+ and US$150 Nokia XL coming by Second Quarter of 2014 - Nokia's Trio of smartphones Perfect Windows Phone Trojan Horse for Developing World

“The Nokia X will be a feeder system for Lumia. We're introducing the next billion people to Microsoft.”

Head of the Nokia Devices Business, Stephen Elop commenting during the Press Conference at MWC 2014 during the Nokia X Launch

On Tuesday February 25^th 2014 during MWC 2014 (Mobile World Congress), Nokia introduced a new budget smartphone dubbed Nokia X as stated in “Nokia reveals the Nokia X 'Android' phone family”, published February 24, 2014 12:03 AM PST, by Nic Healey, CNET News. Nokia is clearly serious about this new line of smartphones, as it already has siblings, namely the Nokia X+ and the larger Nokia XL Phablet.

Straight like that, I already like this project!

Nokia X’s running what appears to be a forked or seriously modified version of Google Android with a dab of Asha and Microsoft Windows Phone. The Nokia X will also be launching with Swiftkey, the fastest predictive Keyboard known to Android users, making this a very serious foray into the Android World by Nokia as stated in “SwiftKey's fast-typing predictive keyboard coming to the Nokia X”, published February 24, 2014 12:30 AM PST by Tim Stevens, CNET News.

Even better is the fact that they are Dual-SIM Budget smartphones, which already fits with my predicted trend towards Dual-SIM Smartphones being popular going forward as stated in my blog article entitled “LIME's Postpaid Plus and JA$200 per week Blackberry Plans - Browse and Talk is proof that Postpaid and Data Services are all the Rage as MNP and LNP approaches on May 2014”.

Nokia X Strategy – Days of Future Past as Nokia uses Android as a Trojan Horse

Despite being Android, it’s modified to look like a typical Window Phone OS with Live Tiles and support for Windows Apps and possible Google Play Store versions of Windows Apps as noted in “Nokia X release date, news and features”, published March 14^th 2014 By John McCann, TechRadar.

The Nokia X is already on sale in India for US$141.655 (Rs8599) and Kenya for around the same price. Nokia X will arrive in select Developed and Developing World markets, specifically at a price of US$120, specifically:

1.      North America

2.      Latin America

3.      Europe

4.      United Kingdom

5.      Australia

The Nokia X has been released since March 2014 with the Nokia X+ and Nokia XL arriving by the Second Quarter of 2014 and will cost as follows:

1.      US$120 for the Nokia X

2.      US$135 for the Nokia X+ 

3.      US$150 for the Nokia XL

The specs for this trio of smartphones are as shown below, with each smartphone differing from the other only by virtue of Internal Memory:

Nokia X Specs

1.      CPU: Dual-core 1 GHz Cortex-A5 with Qualcomm MSM8225 Snapdragon S4 Play chipset

2.      GPU: Adreno 203

3.      OS: Android OS, v4.1.2 (Jelly Bean)

4.      Display:  IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors

5.      Resolution: 480 x 800 pixels, 4.0 inches (~233 ppi pixel density)

6.      Dimensions: 115.5 x 63 x 10.4 mm, 73.2 cc (4.55 x 2.48 x 0.41 in)

7.      Weight: 128.7 g (4.52 oz)

8.      SIM: Dual

9.      External: 32 GB SD Card Slot

10.  Internal: 4 GB

11.  RAM: 512 MB

12.  SIM: Optional Dual SIM (Micro-SIM)

13.  Rear Facing camera: 3.15 MP, 2048 x 1536 pixels

14.  Port: Bluetooth v3.0 with A2DP, microUSB v2.0

15.  2G Network:

a)      2G GSM 850/900/1800/1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2

b)      GSM 850/900/1800/1900

16.  3G Network: HSDPA 900 / 2100

17.  Internet Access: Data, GPRS, EDGE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot

18.  Battery: Li-Ion 1500 mAh battery (BN-01)

a)      Stand-by Up to 408 h

b)      Talk time Up to 13 h 20 min (2G) / Up to 10 h 30 min (3G)

c)      Music play Up to 26 h

Features

1.      Vibration MP3, WAV ringtones

2.      Multitouch

3.      1/5'' sensor size, panorama, face detection

4.      Accelerometer, proximity

5.      Messaging SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM

6.      HTML

7.      Stereo FM radio

8.      GPS

9.      Java MIDP emulator

10.  SNS integration

11.  MP3/WAV/eAAC+/Flac player

12.  MP4/H.264/H.263 player

13.  Document viewer

14.  Photo editor

15.  Voice memo/dial

16.  Predictive text input

17.  Loudspeaker        

18.  3.5mm jack

Nokia X+ Specs

1.      CPU: Dual-core 1 GHz Cortex-A5 with Qualcomm MSM8225 Snapdragon S4 Play chipset

2.      GPU: Adreno 203

3.      OS: Android OS, v4.1.2 (Jelly Bean)

4.      Display:  IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors

5.      Resolution: 480 x 800 pixels, 4.0 inches (~233 ppi pixel density)

6.      Dimensions: 115.5 x 63 x 10.4 mm, 73.2 cc (4.55 x 2.48 x 0.41 in)

7.      Weight: 128.7 g (4.52 oz)

8.      SIM: Dual

9.      External: 32 GB SD Card Slot

10.  Internal: 4 GB

11.  RAM: 768 MB

12.  SIM: Optional Dual SIM (Micro-SIM)

13.  Rear Facing camera: 3.15 MP, 2048 x 1536 pixels

14.  Port: Bluetooth v3.0 with A2DP, microUSB v2.0

15.  2G Network:

1. 2G GSM 850/900/1800/1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2
2. GSM 850/900/1800/1900

16.  3G Network: HSDPA 900 / 2100

17.  Internet Access: Data, GPRS, EDGE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot

18.  Battery: Li-Ion 1500 mAh battery (BN-01)

1. Stand-by Up to 408 h
2. Talk time Up to 13 h 20 min (2G) / Up to 10 h 30 min (3G)
3. Music play Up to 26 h

Features

1.      Vibration MP3, WAV ringtones

2.      Multitouch

3.      1/5'' sensor size, panorama, face detection

4.      Accelerometer, proximity

5.      Messaging SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM

6.      HTML

7.      Stereo FM radio

8.      GPS

9.      Java MIDP emulator

10.  SNS integration

11.  MP3/WAV/eAAC+/Flac player

12.  MP4/H.264/H.263 player

13.  Document viewer

14.  Photo editor

15.  Voice memo/dial

16.  Predictive text input

17.  Loudspeaker        

18.  3.5mm jack

Nokia XL Specs

1.      CPU: Dual-core 1 GHz Cortex-A5 with Qualcomm MSM8225 Snapdragon S4 Play chipset

2.      GPU: Adreno 203

3.      OS: Android OS, v4.1.2 (Jelly Bean)

4.      Display:  IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors

5.      Resolution: 480 x 800 pixels, 4.0 inches (~233 ppi pixel density)

6.      Dimensions: 141.4 x 77.7 x 10.9 mm, 109 cc (5.57 x 3.06 x 0.43 in)

7.      Weight: 190 g (6.70 oz)

8.      SIM: Dual

9.      External: 32 GB SD Card Slot

10.  Internal: 4 GB

11.  RAM: 768 MB

12.  SIM: Optional Dual SIM (Micro-SIM)

13.  Rear Facing Camera: 5 MP, 2592 х 1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash

14.  Front Facing Camera: 2 MP

15.  Port: Bluetooth v3.0 with A2DP, microUSB v2.0

16.  2G Network:

1. 2G GSM 850/900/1800/1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2
2. GSM 850/900/1800/1900

17.  3G Network: HSDPA 900 / 2100

18.  Internet Access: Data, GPRS, EDGE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot

19.  Li-Ion 2000 mAh battery (BN-02)

1. Stand-by         Up to 720 h
2. Talk time         Up to 16 h (2G) / Up to 13 h (3G)
3. Music play       Up to 37 h

Features

1.      Vibration MP3, WAV ringtones

2.      Multitouch

3.      1/5'' sensor size, panorama, face detection

4.      Accelerometer, proximity

5.      Messaging SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM

6.      HTML

7.      Stereo FM radio

8.      GPS

9.      Java MIDP emulator

10.  SNS integration

11.  MP3/WAV/eAAC+/Flac player

12.  MP4/H.264/H.263 player

13.  Document viewer

14.  Photo editor

15.  Voice memo/dial

16.  Predictive text input

17.  Loudspeaker        

18.  3.5mm jack

The Nokia X comes in the following Colours:

1.      Bright green

2.      Bright red

3.      Cyan

4.      Yellow

5.      Black

6.      White

Please note these are unlocked smartphones. At these prices, it makes the unlocked US$137 Xiaomi Redmi as reported in my blog article entitled “Xiaomi launches US$134.07 Xiaomi Redmi smartphone in Singapore - Perfect Storm for Apple and Samsung as the Xiaomi Redmi is Katy Perry's Dark Horse” look slightly overpriced!

Nokia X Strategy – Cannon Fodder to increase engagement with Windows Phone OS

And that’s exactly where it ends with Android. From here on out it’s clearly a Windows Phone OS UI (User Interface) with a splash of Nokia Asha over an Android Skeleton. There is no Google Android.

There is no Google Play Store but it does lead to a Windows Android Store where you can purchase Java Compatible Apps. A boon for Developers who can now focus on porting Apps they’re written for the Google Play Store instead of having to recode Apps All over again.

With that said, Google Play Apps won’t work in this forked environment, even if side-loaded via an SD Card; they’re required serious modification and in fact I’d advise against it, as this practice can do serious damage to your smartphone.

Clever Strategy with the pricing too for this potpourri smartphone , as coupled with the Windows Phone design, it’s gonna be very popular. This as it’ll introduce first time smartphones users to Windows Phone via using Google Android as a low-cost Demonstrator of the Windows Tiles Interface as stated in “Why the Android-powered Nokia X is great for Microsoft”, published February 24, 2014 12:24 AM PST by Roger Cheng, CNET News.

It’s rather clever snub of Android, befitting then CEO of Nokia Stephen Elop comment about Android being merely piss on one’s pants that would only provide temporary warmth for Google as stated in “Nokia CEO Stephen Elop might pee pants, launch Android phone”, published Jan 7th 2013 by Rob Jackson, Phandroid.

This as via the Nokia X strategy, Stephen Elop, now currently the Head of the Nokia Devices Business, maintains this very stance, using Android clothes in Windows Phone as mere Cannon Fodder in their pitched battled against all the other Smartphone makers that are using Google Android in its pure form as their OS.

Microsoft’s Next move – Reduce the License on Windows Phone OS or even go Open Source

Microsoft, their partner and makers of Windows Phone OS, therefore shouldn’t mind too much.

Neither should other smartphone partners committed to using Windows Phone OS such as HTC and Lenovo, as this isn’t a case of Microsoft going soft on their Nokia partnership. Still, with the possibility of hacking the Nokia X to access the Google Play Store and accept Google apps thanks the XDA Developers Forum as described in “Nokia X Android phone already hacked to run Google Apps, Now and Play Store”, published March 1st 2014 By Chris Smith, TechRadar  expect this smartphone to quickly start outselling BOTH Windows Phone and Asha smartphone on offer by Nokia.

So how can Nokia benefit in the long term from using Android in this manner?

By doing the same thing for Windows Phone OS as they did with Windows 8.1; lower the costs of licensing and make it more developer friendly and at least handset neutral and easier to port apps as argued in my blog article entitled “Microsoft cuts cost of Windows 8 Licensing by 70% - Low cost Windows 8 Tablets coming as Microsoft is now Walking with the Enemy, Google OS”.

An Open Source version of Windows Phone OS may also be in the works, if this strategy combined with the low cost yet quality hardware works as planned.

Nokia, by forking Android with this their latest smartphone push, have created the perfect Trojan Horse to introduce Windows Phone the minds of low-End mobile phones users in the Developing World.