 | « Back to article | Print this article |
Why Nokia's Android smartphones will disappoint you
Below par display, processor and storage are definite turn offs for Nokia fans, says Anil Satpathy.
Nokia has recently announced three Android based smartphones -- X, X+, and XL.
All the three handsets are set to be launched in India as well. Though Nokia has not revealed their prices, the company had at the time of unveiling said they will be priced between Asha and Lumia range of phones.
Currently the Lumia range starts from Rs 7,500 onwards while the Asha series is available below Rs 7,000.
From this we can assume that the prices of Nokia X series handsets would start from Rs 8,000 onwards. But should you go for the Nokia Android phones disregarding the plethora of Android offerings from other manufacturers?
Please click NEXT to continue reading...
Why Nokia's Android smartphones will disappoint you
Display
Both Nokia X and X+ come with a 4-inch capacitive touchscreen with 800x480 pixels resolution and only two point touch provision. They are said to have wide angle viewing. The Nokia XL has a bigger 5-inch touchscreen but with the same 800x480 pixels resolution.
Now most of the Android smartphones around Rs 10,000 come with capacitive touchscreens with qHD resolution (540x960 pixels) while handsets between Rs 10,000 -- Rs 20,000 have HD or full HD resolution and most of them have 5-point touch support.
Few handsets around Rs 15,000 even come with Gorilla Glass protection.
So in terms of display, the Nokia Android handsets are far behind the average Android smartphones.
Reader Invite
Are you a gadget/gaming wizard/afficianado? Would you like to write on gadgets, gaming, the Internet, software technologies, OSs and the works for us? Please mail us a sample of your writing at gadgetsandgaming@rediffmail.com with the subject 'I'm a tech wizard/afficianado' and we will get in touch with you.
Please click NEXT to continue reading...
Why Nokia's Android smartphones will disappoint you
Memory
All Nokia X series handsets come with 4 GB internal storage and a 32 GB micro SD card slot. The Nokia X has 512 MB RAM while the other two have 768 MB RAM.
Most Android handsets under Rs 10,000 have the same storage provision -- 4 GB internal and 32 GB expandable. However, most Android smartphones starting from Rs 8,000 to Rs 20,000 have 1 GB RAM.
New handsets around Rs 15,000 have even 8 GB or 16 GB internal storage apart from expandable storage slot.
So vis-a-vis storage too the Nokia Android phones disappoint.
Please click NEXT to continue reading...
Why Nokia's Android smartphones will disappoint you
Camera
Neither the Nokia X nor Nokia X+ come with front camera facility. They just have a 3 megapixel rear camera. Sadly, this camera is of fixed focus nature.
The Nokia XL, though, is slightly better with a 5 megapixel auto focus rear camera and a 2 megapixel front camera.
If you look at Android smartphones from Rs 8,000 to Rs 20,000, they come with higher camera resolution and auto focus.
In fact, many Android smartphones in the Rs 10,000 -- Rs 20,000 segment boasts of 5 megapixel front camera, leave alone their 13 megapixel rear cameras.
Please click NEXT to continue reading...
Why Nokia's Android smartphones will disappoint you
Processor
All the three Nokia Android handsets have 1 GHz dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor.
In comparison, the low cost Android phones even use a quad core processor while a couple of octa core processor based handsets (Intex Aqua Octa, Micromax Canvas Knight etc) have either been launched or are set to hit the Indian market soon.
Please click NEXT to continue reading...
Why Nokia's Android smartphones will disappoint you
OS and UI
This is perhaps the biggest disappointment for many. Nokia's X series handsets are not truly Android smartphones; they come with Nokia X software which is based on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system.
Also, these phones do not have access to the Google Play store. Users can only download apps from the Nokia app store which is way behind the Android app store in terms of availability of apps and games.
Nokia claims that 75 per cent of all Android apps are available for the phones. We can only verify the claims once we review them.
As far as the user interface is concerned, the Nokia Android phones offer a mix of Android and Windows Phone operating system. They come with a tiled user interface which may appeal to many. We can say more about the usefulness of the interface after reviewing the phones.
Please click NEXT to continue reading...
Why Nokia's Android smartphones will disappoint you
Battery
Both the Nokia X and X+ have 1500 mAh battery and claims to offer about 11 hours of 3G talktime while the XL comes with a 2000 mAh battery and claim to offer 13 hours of 3G talktime.
In this section Nokia X series handsets look better than most Android smartphones which on an average offer about 6-7 hours of 3G talktime.
The Nokia X series handsets look attractive in terms of battery and user interface. But in sections like display, processor, and storage they look abysmally below par than their Android counterparts.
It all boils down to their pricing which will decide their fate in the Indian market.