Nokia mobile has announced the Nokia X2 smartphone which will be its first handset release since its acquisition by Microsoft. But interestingly the X2 handset forsakes the usual Windows Phone standard as featured in the Lumia range and instead employs a version of Google’s Android 4.1 – albeit a heavily disguised version of Android. You’re fooling no one Nokia!
Removing any trace of Google branding including the Play Store and Google’s applications, the Nokia X2 bears closer resemblance to the Windows Phone OS than the Android OS we’re familiar with, with its uniformed tiling and colourful icons, you’d be mistaken for thinking you were a Lumia handset.
Third party Android games and apps such as Temple Run and Instagram will be available, offering a much wider range of games and software tools than are currently on offer from Microsoft’s Marketplace but the Nokia X2 phone will also provide a selection of preinstalled Windows Phone optimised apps and online services, including its owned VoIP app Skype (which the phone offers a month free calls), navigation with HERE Maps, email through Outlook and OneDrive cloud storage.
As for the hardware and specs, the Nokia X2 will come colourfully cased with a choice of hues available and features a modest 4.3” touchscreen display, 1GB of RAM and 4GB internal memory with expanded memory available via SD Card up to 32GB. The handset features a 5-megapixel main camera with LED flash and auto-focus and the phone allow Dual-SIMs to be used.
Microsoft adds a lot of nice original features to a reliable Android backbone and at an affordable price too, with the Nokia X2 said to cost around 99 Euros at launch in July.