Kaz Hirai, immediately after the presentation of the new Xperia, was briefly at the Finnish company's booth, took his hands on and tested the Nokia X, which start at under 90 euros
Amid a flurry of new low-cost smartphones aimed at hundreds of millions of consumers in major emerging markets such as India, China and Brazil, and with Ericsson CEO Hans Vestberg noting that “for every $10 drop in the average price, 100 million new subscribers can be added to mobile networks,” Nokia has unveiled not one – as expected – but three devices running a modified, hybrid version of Android.
The Nokia X even caught the attention of Sony CEO Kaz Hirai, who, right after the presentation of the new Xperias, briefly stopped by the Finnish company's booth - coincidentally, it's right across from Sony's. The Sony boss got his hands on and tried out the Nokia X, which starts at under 90 euros, in a category where the Japanese company also has some entry-level devices to show off, such as the Xperia E.
The Nokia X, X+ and XL run a modified version of Android 4.1, with an interface that is a mix of influences (and apps) from the Finnish company's entry-level Asha series and Microsoft's Windows Phone. They don't have access to Google Play, and apps can be downloaded from a new Nokia online store.
However, it cannot go unnoticed that Nokia made this (planned) move just a few weeks before the completion of the acquisition of its mobile phone division by Microsoft (for $7.2 billion). It is noted that Nokia and Microsoft have had a strategic partnership for the promotion of Windows Phone for the past three years, and the American company has just announced its own plans for low-cost smartphones in Barcelona. A solution to this complex puzzle could probably be found in the terms of the acquisition, which according to some information gives Microsoft the right to use the Nokia name exclusively, while the Finnish company will continue to collect royalties for each device sold in the future. It is also rumored that it has the ability to re-grant the relevant right to a third manufacturer after a period of several years.
For now, the Nokia X, which will be released first in the first week of March, is dual-SIM (in accordance with the requirements of the markets it is primarily aimed at), has a 4-inch 800x480p resolution screen and a dual-core Qualcomm processor.
Source: protothema.gr
