Flashback: the Nokia X series or how the Android dream turned into a short snooze

You can also additionally have heard the tragic story of the Microsoft Kin gadgets – an entire new cellular platform turned into released and discontinued in only forty eight days. Today we need to revisit one in all Microsoft’s barely greater a success mobile projects. Granted, it is one of the lowest bars for achievement to be cleared.

Do you don’t forget the Nokia X line? No, now no longer the current X-phones which are made with the aid of using HMD Global. The authentic X-series began out below Nokia and turned into introduced with the aid of using Stephen Elop at MWC 2014 in February. If that call spark off alarm bells for your head, yep, this turned into throughout the transition of Nokia Devices & Services department to Microsoft.

The deal turned into signed in overdue 2013 however wouldn’t near till April 2014, after the Nokia X phones release. The phones had been a mishmash of numerous matters, however they had been the primary Android-powered gadgets with the aid of using the Finnish agency, which spent years and billions of euro seeking to use opportunity platforms.

It began out with the Nokia X and Nokia X+. They had been essentially the equal tool, however the X+ had greater RAM – 768MB in place of 512MB – and got here with a 4GB microSD card pre-hooked up. As you may already tell, those had been not high-stop gadgets.

They had been interesting, aleven though. They ran Android (4.1 Jelly Bean initially), however did now no longer have get entry to to the Google Play Store. Microsoft and Nokia desired to construct an opportunity software environment much like what Amazon turned into doing with Fire OS.

Early in its lifestyles the Nokia X platform turned into called the “Asha on Linux” venture, which must let you know the goal marketplace for those gadgets. The Asha phones straddled the road among featurephones and smartphones – they had been reasonably-priced, accessible, decently succesful and had been a part of Nokia’s “subsequent billion” method (the aim turned into to attach 1 billion humans to the Internet for the primary time).

The authentic Asha platform wasn’t a whole lot greater effective than Series forty even though it ran WhatsApp, Facebook, Angry Birds and had a fundamental map app. The X-series turned into theoretically as effective as any Android, so long as the software match in the confined RAM.

To be honest to Nokia and Microsoft, this wasn’t a low-attempt venture. They added a number of their satisfactory acknowledged apps – HERE Maps for navigation, the Xpress browser, the MixRadio song player, additionally Skype and Outlook for communication.

Besides the Nokia Store, X phones may also down load apps from the Yandex Store. If you didn’t recognize that turned into a thing, don’t worry – maximum humans didn’t either. Eventually (with model 2.1 of the platform) customers had been allowed to put in the Google Play Store and Google Play Services.

Let’s have a better have a take a observe the specs. The Nokia X featured a 4.0” IPS LCD (480 x 800) and turned into powered with the aid of using a Snapdragon S4 Play chipset (dual Cortex-A5 1.0GHz CPU, Adreno 203 GPU). It had 512MB of RAM and 4GB inner garage. On the again turned into a three.15MP camera (480p video), on pinnacle a three.5mm jack. The phone ran on a 1,500mAh battery. The X+ turned into basically the equal keep for the greater RAM (768MB) and pre-hooked up microSD card.

This hardware may sound familiar – it’s now no longer a ways off the Lumia 520 that released a 12 months before. And we’ve got fond recollections of the 520 (but we slightly even bear in mind the Nokia X, humorous how that labored out).

The Nokia X (dual-SIM) released in India at ₹8,600 (which equated to $140/€a hundred again then), costing greater than the Lumia 520. It additionally hit Malaysia for MYR 400 ($120).

Since Nokia determined to apply most effective the middle of Android, it advanced its personal interface to move on pinnacle. You can examine our evaluate for greater info, right here we can simply speedy move over the system.

It featured the Fastlane homescreen, borrowed from Asha phones. This can also additionally appearance stimulated with the aid of using Windows Phone’s tiles, however Nokia requested third-party builders to paste to Android layout pointers in preference to seeking to imitate Windows. You may want to vicinity shortcuts and widgets at the homescreen and resize them as you noticed match.

The real Fastlane turned into at the left – this turned into a timeline that covered the whole thing from current calls to these days used apps, new pics and incoming mail and so on. It turned into enormously customizable and you may disguise a number of the matters to lessen clutter.

The X phones got here with a Chromium-primarily based totally browser that had tabs and turned into decently rapid even on 3G. Facebook and Twitter apps had been pre-hooked up as nicely.

This turned into the crown jewel of Nokia software – HERE Maps with offline voice-guided navigation. A devoted SatNav unit may want to without difficulty value as a whole lot because the phone itself and there has been much less opposition again then (Google Maps turned into but to ideal offline operation and facts turned into expensive).

On the turn side, right here is possibly the worst a part of the Nokia software – the app store. Nokia has had numerous app shops over the years (don’t forget Ovi?), however none ever completed a fragment of the achievement of the Google Play Store.

Nokia claimed that 75% of all Android apps are well suited with the X platform, builders simply had to post their APK. The different 25% may want to without difficulty be transformed to paintings with out Google’s Play Services (nicely, so Nokia claimed, anyway).

A few months after the X and X+ got here the Nokia XL. Yes, it turned into larger, however with a 5.zero” show it wasn’t “XL” even with the aid of using 2014 standards. The IPS LCD saved the decision at 480 x 800px in spite of the longer diagonal. The turned into one improve, aleven though, a 5MP major camera.

Wait, upgrades – the XL had a 2MP selfie camera, the X and X+ had none. To be honest, the Lumia 520 didn’t have a selfie digital digicam either. Yes, those had been incredible reasonably-priced gadgets ($50-$100), however how a whole lot did a 2MP sensor value, anyway?

We’re now no longer certain how nicely the Nokia X series did. For a quick second it seemed just like the X telephones scored 1 million pre-orders in China. That grew to become out to be an mistakess in translation of sorts – JD turned into walking pre-order marketing campaign and provided a danger to win a unfastened Nokia X in case you clicked a button (which turned into unfastened, no deposit necessary). So, a button turned into clicked 1 million times. How many phones had been honestly bought to purchasers is anyone’s guess.

Confusion didn’t stop there – humans concept that Microsoft had killed off the X-series and consequently that the Nokia X2 turned into canceled. The X2 amazed anyone with the aid of using occurring sale in Russia and Pakistan for €115-€125.

The Nokia X2 turned into a slight improve over the authentic, now no longer that we anticipated greater after only some months. It prolonged the display screen to 4.3” (nevertheless 480 x 800px) and it covered Nokia’s ClearBlack tech – a polarizing clear out out that hugely progressed daylight legibility.

It additionally ran on greater effective hardware, a Snapdragon 200 – the 2 CPU cores had been upgraded to Cortex-A7 (1.2GHz) and the GPU to Adreno 302. Even better, that they’d a whopping 1GB of RAM to play with (garage turned into nevertheless at 4GB). The camera at the rear stepped as much as a 5MP sensor, now able to recording 720p video. There turned into even a selfie camera, aleven though unusually it most effective had a zero.3MP sensor (worse than the XL).

Even aleven though it got here out in July, simply months after the March release of the authentic models, the Nokia X2 additionally added the following technology Nokia X Platform 2.zero. And on the grounds that Microsoft is Microsoft, the agency introduced that the authentic trio – the Nokia X, X+ and XL – will now no longer be up to date to 2.zero. It’s as though it discovered not anything from dropping purchasers over the Windows Phone 7 to eight replace fiasco.

The Nokia X Platform 2.0 turned into primarily based totally on Android 4.three Jelly Bean, so humans weren’t lacking a whole lot. Still, it’s a kick withinside the enamel to listen that your phone, slightly some months antique at this point, is already out of date.

The Nokia X platform itself have become out of date simply as speedy. Remember whilst we stated that humans concept that the Nokia X2 turned into canceled? That wasn’t speculation, Microsoft killed this system and laid off 18,000 humans. CEO Satya Nadella stated that destiny Nokia X designs can be repurposed as Windows Phone gadgets.

This turned into in July 2014, rapidly after Microsoft finished its acquisition of Nokia’s phone department (which turned into renamed to Microsoft Mobile) and most effective half a 12 months because the Nokia X platform turned into first introduced. This death wasn’t as fast as that of the Kin, however in a manner it turned into worse – a few lovers had spent years wishing that Nokia could surrender chasing the Windows Phone dream and simply use Android. Okay, they had been likely wishing for Android on a high-stop tool, however the X series turned into a start.

Later in 2014 got here every other Nokia-branded tool walking Android – the Nokia N1. We cited in ultimate week on the grounds that this 7.9” slate turned into powered with the aid of using an Intel Atom Z3580. It ran Android 5.0 Lollipop and it did have the Google Play Store pre-hooked up. It didn’t use Fastlane, however, as an alternative it delivered the Z Launcher (greater info in our evaluate).

There turned into no Nokia N2, the department now below Microsoft manipulate targeted on Windows phones and tablets. We can recognize why the management didn’t need any Android-primarily based totally distractions on the grounds that Windows Phone wanted all the eye it is able to get.

Microsoft has a brand new Android phone those days, the Surface Duo. However, this time it labored immediately with Google to comprise a few traits for multitasking on twin-screened gadgets into Android proper. As for Nokia, it’s far satisfied constructing 5G networking system and doesn’t appear in a rush to move again to creating purchaser gadgets.

We don’t recognize what turned into going on in the back of the scenes, however the Nokia X and Nokia N1 do now no longer sense like a coordinated method to undertake Android for low-stop gadgets. Or a coordinated method of any kind. Things had been surely messy again then – inner opposition killed MeeGo withinside the crib in desire of Symbian, which in flip turned into tossed out in desire of Windows Phone. With that during mind, it’s now no longer too unexpected that but every other competing phone venture at Nokia floundered.