Nokia X Review

Introduction

One of the forefathers of the modern phone industry, Nokia is revered by many to this day for the level of build quality of its devices, and yet that didn't help the company when it was caught off guard by the stratospheric surge in demand for smartphones. Many thought that the Finnish company made all the wrong decisions, especially when it decided to go for an infant of an operating system in Windows Phone. The thought of what Nokia could have been like if it instead at least had hedged its bets, and adopted Android as well, is still stuck at the back of the heads of many industry watchers, not to mention fans.

We won't be having a miraculous remake of history today – it's too late for that – but we all finally have the opportunity to see what Nokia hardware powered by Android feels like. With its X-line, Nokia surprised many by finally seeing fit to experiment with Android, though hardheaded as the company is, this is still a fork of the platform. The 4-inch, dual SIM entry-level Nokia X that we'll be looking at today, then, comes with all the signature Nokia services like its app store and HERE Maps, but none from Google. There's no Play Store, no Google Maps, and many, many more. And while there's a degree of inter-compatibility (ergo, normal Android apps will usually run just fine on the Nokia X's software), it's still a halfhearted stab at the world's most popular mobile OS. Is that necessarily a bad thing? We were very intent on finding out and share our impressions with you, so keep on reading.

In the box:

• A power plug with a permanently-attached microUSB cable
• Headphones

Design

The Nokia X borrows inspiration heavily from the Lumia 525 and Asha 503 – the X is a typical rectangular slab with sharper-than-average corners and excellent build quality

Whether it's because it is a near-flawless look-alike to the latest Asha 503, or because the Asha, in turn, draws inspiration from Nokia's Lumia 520/525, we felt like we knew the Nokia X from the get-go. The X inherited the singular capacitive 'back' button from the the Asha line, and the rectangular frame with its moderately sharp edges. The removable rear shell is made of solid matte plastic, same as the buttons on the right side of the X. Both the volume rocker and the power key provide profound feedback, and there's a nice amount of travel to them.

Handling the Nokia X is easy – the small device is perfect for one-handed use – but we couldn't shake off the feeling that we're using a toy phone. And it's not just the jubilant palette of color options – it's also the profoundly plastic, but very solid exterior that made us feel like we're operating a reinforced, child-proof piece of hardware. On the bright side, while there's no arguing this looks and feels like an entry-level device, the overall build quality is impressive.

Display

Reflective, dim, and completely off when it comes to proper color reproduction

When looking at the 4-inch 480x800 pixel resolution IPS display on the Nokia X, the results speak for themselves, and align very well with our initial impressions. For starters, this isn't the sharpest panel out there, though at 233ppi, we didn't find much reason for complaint.

But it's in color reproduction that the panel totally disappoints – it's got a very cold color temperature of 9320K, resulting in a noticeably bluish fringe throughout. This problem is especially noticeable when the display has to render differing shades of gray. But that's not all – specific colors, like magenta and cyan, are seriously messed up. Greens and reds are also problematic.

Worse yet, the display isn't very bright, managing 359 nits at its very best. This, combined with the highly reflective glass on top of the display, amounts to a frustrating outdoors viewing experience. It's also relatively bright even at the lowest setting, meaning that usage in complete darkness may tire out your eyes quickly.

Interface and functionality

Nokia's fork of Android culminates in a Frankenstein of a software – elements from Windows Phone 8 and Nokia's Asha platform have been stitched to the core of Android

The Nokia X runs on a fork of Android that it chose to call the Nokia X software platform 1.1. Regardless, this is very much Android at its core, though it looks drastically different when talking about the lockscreen and the two available homescreens. These three are all nearly identical to what you get on a Windows Phone 8, and there are some Asha flashbacks too, both in terms of looks and functionality.

The homescreen, for example, is tile-centric, and those can all be re-sized just like on WP8. Unlike with Microsoft's tiles, however, the Nokia X's are completely static. There's also no drawer menu with all of your apps – those go directly to your homescreen, though you can organize them into folders (and you should – scrolling around is choppy enough as it is). Swiping from the top will introduce you to a small status bar, which holds four main quick toggles for easy access – Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, data connectivity, and Silent mode. Notifications are fed to your lockscreen, and can also be accessed through the Fastlane screen.

Fastlane is a new dedicated homescreen, inherited from the Asha line. Accessible by swiping left or right from the default homescreen, Fastlane is a separate screen that keeps track of recent apps and also fills with notification-like updates triggered by different events. For example, receiving an SMS text message will register on Fastlane, and so will the latest photo you took with the X's camera. You can control which apps get access to Fastlane on a per-app basis through the Settings.

Speaking of Settings, these are among the few indications that the Nokia X is, indeed, running a highly-customized Android, but Android nevertheless. Essentially identical to what you'll find in the stock version of the software in terms of options, the menu itself offers no surprise and little extras. For example, you can activate Glance screen, which shows the time even when the display is off, and there's also double tap to wake functionality. No complaints with the former, but waking up your Nokia X with a simple double tap does not cut it. Instead, you have to use moderate force in order to unlock the screen that way.

But what about the essential apps, like Messaging, Contacts, and E-mail – how do they function and look on Nokia's new software? In a nutshell, they're as basic and straightforward as these go, but there are some very noteworthy exceptions. For example, something as simple as your Calendar simply won't allow you to add events unless you connect it to a Microsoft Exchange account.

And what about third-party apps? Unfortunately, the choice is quite limited, as you're only getting access to Nokia's app store, which feels absolutely empty when compared to Google's Play Store. Still, you do have access to major apps, such as Facebook, Twitter, Vine, Snapchat and Skype, but not too much beyond that. Thankfully, Nokia's app seems to be interconnected with third-party app stores, like SlideMe and Aptoid, and knows if the app you're looking for is available there. So while you won't find the likes of Instagram, Netflix or Candy Crush on the Nokia store, you can get it off one of the above.

Dual SIM

A perk is a perk – the dual SIM/dual standby config should appeal to those looking to separate work and personal life, or save some money through affordable tariffs

One of the perks that you get with the Nokia X is a duo of SIM slots. Popular among people in developing countries, the specific configuration that you get is dual standby, meaning that you can only use one SIM card at any one time. So, for example, if you're holding a call on SIM 1, SIM 2 will be unreachable. Moreover, only one of the two slots allows for 3G connectivity – the other one is limited to 2G.

As for the software surrounding the functionality, it's fairly basic, but well done. Placing any call will trigger a prompt, asking you to choose through which SIM to place the call, though you can also automate the process by attaching tags to certain contacts. That way, you can for example set the Nokia X to call your immediate family only through your first SIM, and have all work-related contacts default to the second one.

Processor and memory

Performance is not the Nokia X's strongest suite – 512MB of RAM are just insufficient to push Android frills-free

From the moment we picked up the Nokia X, we knew we're faced with a device that's going to struggle pushing Android. That's not surprising, despite the low pixel resolution, as the X is powered by a 1GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 MSM8225 processor and a measly 512MB of RAM. And while we've seen devices handle themselves just fine with this particular Qualcomm chip, 512MB of RAM have proven insufficient to run Android frills-free. This is especially true when you're dealing with the Nokia X's software.

And lo and behold, this shoddy performance is also perfectly represented in synthetic benchmarks. That's not at all surprising, seeing as the X packs hardware that is quickly becoming obsolete. All said, expect to be able to run some medium-intensive app and game titles without too much trouble. Graphics-intensive games like Asphalt 8, however, will run at low frame rate, and others will prove completely unplayable.

Browser

Internet and connectivity

Frustratingly laggy navigation equals an unpleasant browsing experience

Looking at browsing on the Nokia X, it's a mixed bag. So while load speeds are acceptable for this class, navigating around is frustrating due to laggy scrolling and panning. We felt like the Nokia X isn't a device that you'll be wanting to spend extended periods of surfing the web.

In terms of the connectivity options you get with the X, the list is pretty basic. There's Wi-Fi and A-GPS, of course, and Bluetooth 3.0 is also on board. A little disappointing, however, are the rather limited HSDPA speeds of up to 7.2 Mbit/s.

Camera

The 3-megapixel snapper on the X produces stills that are characterized by softness and insufficient detail

The Nokia X comes with a wildly unimpressive, 3-megapixel camera with fixed focus and no flash to speak of. It has a tiny, 1/5'' sensor and a rather narrow, f/2.8 aperture, further complicating things when light isn't abundant. You'll find no front-facing cam with this phone.

The UI itself is absolutely basic – there are shortcuts for white balance and ISO tweaking, and you also get three shooting modes – stills, video, and panoramas. Thankfully, the Nokia X doesn't take forever to commit a new snap to its memory, so no complaints there.

So, what kind of snaps can you expect to produce if you opt for the X? Don't hold your breath. Images occasionally come out underexposed, and colors are a bit lifeless. If that wasn't enough, there's also a pretty noticeable purple fringing with many shots. On the whole, images are on the soft side, and the X's camera resolves a pretty limited amount of fine detail – even less than you'd expect from a 3-megapixel snapper. Moreover, snaps are also plagued with digital noise, even when light is abundant. Lastly, the lack of auto or manual focus will be a needle in the eye for some.

As for low-light scenarios, those usually prove too challenging for the tiny snapper – a situation that is only magnified by the lack of an LED flash.



And lastly, as far as video capture goes, this is an equally unsatisfying aspect of the 3-megapixel snapper. The videos the camera produces are low-res, and are lacking in every imaginable aspect, whether it's proper exposure, acceptable frame rate, or even decent sound reproduction.

Multimedia

The typical crop of stock Android multimedia apps is what comes pre-loaded on the Nokia X

Despite looking slightly different, the multimedia app bundle that comes pre-packed with the Nokia X is very, very close to their stock Android counterparts, and that can be both a good and a bad thing, depending on your preferences. So while the apps themselves – the Gallery, Music and Video players – are intuitive, they're also pretty limited with their functionality.

Call quality

One word: mediocre

Call quality is one of the few departments where the Nokia X's performance didn't offer an unpleasant surprise. Don't get us wrong, there's nothing impressive here – rather, we got what we would expect from a device in this price class. Both the microphone and the in-ear speaker offer medium volumes, though both also behave similarly in the way they distort voices. Both sides reported echoing voices that were flatter than in reality, though tonal information is not entirely lost. You'll know the person you're talking to by their voice, but you may have to go for a mental squint every now and then.

Battery

Nestled within the Nokia X's body is a user-replaceable, 1500 mAh battery, which Nokia rates good for up to 17 days of standby time when utilizing both SIM cards. Talk time on a 3G network clocks at about 13 hours, and video playback can go on for nearly 8 hours and 30 minutes. Lastly, browsing time is rated at 4 hours and 42 minutes.