TMCnet News
Smartphone for the budget conscious [New Straits Time (Malaysia)](New Straits Time (Malaysia) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) SMART BUY: The Nokia X sets itself apart from the many affordable smartphones in the market with a mishmash of Nokia, Microsoft and Android features and services. Question: What is it? Answer: The X is part of a new range of low-cost Nokia family of phones which run Android applications. The smartphone is an entry- level touchscreen 3G device packed with well-known Nokia and Microsoft services. Question: How does it look? Answer: It's a very simple looking phone. The smartphone looks similar to Nokia's line of Asha phones. Its body is 10.4mm thin with a 4-inch capacitive touchscreen and a removable plastic back cover with a matte finish. It weighs about 129 grams. The volume rocker and power button are on the right side. It has a micro-USB port at the bottom and 3.5mm headphone jack on top. The LCD panel with a WVGA (800x480) resolution provides a reasonable viewing experience. Question: What are its specifications? Answer: The specifications are minimal. However, must stress that it gets the job done. The phone runs on the Nokia X software. It comes with a low-power 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon Dual Core processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB internal memory and up to 32GB expandable memory. It comes with quad-band GSM/EDGE and dual-band (900/2100) HSPA at maximum speeds of 7.2 Mbps down and 5.76 Mbps up. The phone also supports WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 and GPS. A dual SIM (micro SIM) model is also available. Question: Does it have a camera? Answer: The X has a rear 3 megapixel camera with no LED flash. If you like taking selfies then this is not the smartphone for you as it does not have a front-facing camera. Question: What are some of its outstanding features? Answer: What makes the X better than other Android phones at this price point are the thousands of apps, free Skype international calls for a limited time, popular Microsoft services like the OneDrive and the many colours it is available in. The X is made easy to use with two screens, home and the Fastlane. Home has a tile-based design providing shortcuts to installed apps, while Fastlane provides a timeline of your activities on the phone. Then, there is the free Nokia HERE Maps which you can enjoy straight out of the box. It offers free voice guided navigation in 200 countries. The Skype's Unlimited World Subscription gives you free international calls to landlines in more than 60 countries and to mobile phones in 8 countries. Storing photos should not be a problem as the Nokia X also comes with free 10GB cloud storage on OneDrive. For music enthusiasts, there is the Nokia MixRadio. Question: What are some of the popular apps it supports? Answer: The X supports Facebook, LINE Free Voice and Messages, LINE Camera, LINE Bubble, Viber, Skype, Twitter, Spotify, BBM and WeChat, among others. For games, you have the Plants vs. Zombies 2, Real Football 2014 and many other simple games. You can also access apps from Nokia Store and other third-party app stores. Although the X does not support Google Play Store, you will be able to sideload any Android app from the Google store as long as it is compatible with the on- board Android 4.1.2 OS. Question: What type of battery does it support? Answer: It uses the 1500 mAH battery. Question: Who is it recommended for? Answer: The X is designed for people experiencing the Internet for the first time. Question: Are there any drawbacks? Answer: It is not truly an Android model as there is no access to Google Play Store and Google services like Gmail, Contacts, Calendar, Google Maps, Google Drive and YouTube. With no flash, the camera is of little use, especially in dark rooms and low light areas. Question: What colours is it available in? Answer: Bright Green, Bright Red, Black and White. (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |