The Reality About the Nokia X Family of Android Phones

When I learned last April that Nokia is going to jump into the globally popular Android craze with its first Android smartphones, I am surprised that a struggling mobile phone brand is going to release something new but unexpected after years in the industry. Still, I was a little bit excited about this, seeing what would they be like if they are available in the market. However, I found out that Nokia's Android phones available in the market are not quite what I have expected. Is the Nokia X family of smartphones fit to be known as Android phones that rule the market today? Well, I'll just point out some factors about them.

Nokia XL is my favorite among the three Android smartphones released by Nokia. (Photo Courtesy of Microsoft.com)

The Nokia X, XL, and most recently the X2 are the current members from the Nokia X family of Android smartphones that are available in local markets today. I have seen a fair number of similarities and differences about these three. One of these is the fact that they are both running on a dual core processor. That would seem fair. When it comes to high-speed internet connectivity, the recently available Nokia X2 is a good recommendation. The largest of them all, the Nokia XL, is a perfect phone for those who want to make video calls through Skype. But all these phones have one thing in common that is different from all other Android phones released.

The Nokia X, XL, and X2 are true Nokia phones but they are capable of running Android applications and games. Nokia customized the Android Jellybean operating system to match the look and feel of both a Windows Phone and a Asha phone. If you find any Google apps installed on those phones, you can't because instead you will see built-in apps from Nokia and Microsoft. You cannot find Google Play to install your favorite games, but you can always find third-party app stores compatible to the Nokia X family. I forgot to mention that one of the Nokia apps is not available in the Philippines, which is the Nokia MixRadio.

If the specifications are the advantages of the Nokia X family, then the lack of Google services are their disadvantages. But this is a true introduction for first-time smartphone users like myself. I always play games on a Nokia feature phone through the years, but seeing a Nokia smartphone capable of running Android apps is considered as a breakthrough for the Finnish brand. It doesn't matter if it is a big hit or not, what matters is that Nokia has truly broken the boundaries of a typical smartphone.