Nokia X Review

Nokia is taking itself down a new path in the lower end of the market with the Nokia X, but is it any good?

Back on Feb. 24 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, the press – including us – were gathered around the Nokia booth to listen to what Stephen Elop was about to introduce. What came after that was the Nokia X. (And its siblings, the better-spec'd Nokia X+, and the larger and better Nokia XL.) At long last, a Nokia smartphone powered by Android. Only, not quite.

Sure, it's Android running on the Nokia X. But it's Android in a form unlike any other we've seen before. What Nokia introduced that day was its own take on how an Android smartphone should look and feel. The short version; a Windows Phone-inspired homescreen and absolutely no Google anywhere to be found. And not since the Moto G did a low-end handset create such discussion.

Elop emphasized during the presentation that the Nokia X was for Microsoft's cloud, not Google's. It's all about getting folks into Microsoft's services. So this isn't an Android phone like most that cross our paths, but it's still a potentially important device. So we've tracked one down and spent a little time getting to know it. Head on past the break and take a look.

---

Solid build quality, removable battery and some excellent Nokia apps such as HERE Maps and MixRadio. Screen is bright and colorful despite its pretty low resolution.	Weighty and a little uninspiring on the design front. Laggy when performing even basic tasks. Nokia Store is woefully lacking in apps and having only a back button leaves a confusing user experience at times.
The Nokia X isn't an awful phone, nor is it an awful experience using it. If you've ever used an Android phone before, then you're going to miss the Google services and you're going to confused as hell with only having a back button. Yeah, it's janky and slow at times, but for the intended audience this might not be the worst buy. And as we've come to know from Nokia phones through the years, it's built like a tank, so it'll probably last the distance. But Motorola still rules the roost in the cheap Android phone space, and more worryingly for Nokia, the Moto G is sold in most of the same markets that the Nokia X is. Which is a much better experience even if it does cost a little more.