An Android in Nokia - Internet 2025

Nokia X2, the evolution of the Android platform

The first Nokia X

A few months ago, when Stephen Elop was still CEO of Nokia – just shy of finding a good job at Microsoft – he left us all somewhat surprised with the range of X phones, which meant the company's entry into the Android market

Already at that time we did an analysis in XatakaWindows about the reasons for this strange movement by Nokia and the implications in the purchase process by Microsoft, coming to the conclusion that that strategy probably had no a long journey in time.

However, not even six months have passed and here we have the second version of the terminal, with many improvements and entering into direct competition with the mid-range Lumia Windows Phone as is 630.

What's the difference with a similarly priced Lumia?

okia Lumia 630

For €149, just under €20, I can buy a free Lumia 630 which is a slightly higher model in terms of processing power than an X2. And I say a little more because, in fact, the X2 has more RAM memory – 512 of the Lumia against 1Gb.of the X2 -, it has more storage capacity than external cards – 32Gb against 64Gb -, and the X2 brings a front camera that the Lumia will miss a lot to take “selfies” and videoconferences.

Also the Nokia X2 directly supplants the Lumia 520, which is also more expensive, since the latter has the same computing power but with less memory and a smaller screen size. Although it must be recognized that the Lumia 630 has arrived with the aim of sweeping the 500 range and leaving it in oblivion.

What are the reasons to continue in the saturated Android market?

Seeing the corporate of the Nokia X range on its website where none of the models in the photos can be confused with a Caucasian user , I can conclude that it is a specific product for India and its billions of potential users; or markets in the area.

Perhaps it is to solve the problem that the Windows Phone brand is related to an unaffordable price for the middle class of that vast economy, or that they want to compete in the Android market by entering the sector where the minimum technical characteristics of Microsoft devices prevent entry; In other words, the Nokia X would be products with an excellent quality/price ratio, but where the acquisition cost is more important than quality, unlike what is inherent in the Lumia range.

Changing to a model from the Lumia range increases prestige

Or it may be that some study has concluded that the buyer of X2, with its user interface so similar to Windows Phone and with Microsoft services instead of Google, when it decides to migrate to a superior phone, it will choose a Lumia, which would produce a double positive effect.

On the one hand, an Android product is offered with the quality of Nokia, but which implicitly highlights the superiority of Lumia products in the form of power, finishes and a superior operating system. And on the other, it could mean that going from a Nokia X2 to a Lumia implies an increase in the prestige and social recognition of the user (A clearly observable effect on buyers iPhone)

Without a doubt, if it turns out that way, it would be a master move .

Why a fork of Android?

It was clear in the scenario of creating an Android platform that "forced" the user to evolve towards a Windows Phone, that the user experience should be as close as possible to that perceived in a Lumia.

And to do this the first thing is to eradicate any reference to or access to Google services that permeate the Android operating system in the vast majority of the terminals, followed by a deep transformation of the user interface and replacing the platform of Google services with those of Microsoft.

This, which might seem like an inconvenience when losing access to the Google Play store, can become an advantage considering that the first thing people ask when they have a Windows Phone in hand is “ Do you have WhatsApp?”, making it clear that right now the value is not so much in the operating system but in the applications and services of the platform

So it can happen that if I have all my contacts in Hotmail, my emails in Outlook.com, my photos in OneDrive and I open my documents with Office instead of with Drive, it becomes much easier for me to migrate to a Lumia than to an Android, where these services are not integrated into the factory operating system but those of Google.

What's more, right now the job of remodeling the user interface has been done so well that I think Android has advantages compared to current Windos Phone.

For example, the notification area is more powerful since it offers more and more detailed information, or that from the main menu I not only have the list of applications to the right but also to the left the list of recent activity, things that have not yet been implemented in Windows Phone.

In addition, although the acquisition of applications is limited to the Nokia or Amazon store, getting rid of Google's store, it is also true that can be accessed to the entire vast library of Android applications by directly installing the . apk .

I still don't see it clearly, but now a little better

The main obstacle that can put buyers back is the uncertain future of the platform.

For many smiles from the company's marketing people, having a Nokia with Android is a very strange thing, and no one but the department that produces and evolves them will put their hand in the fire because they don't Go the way of Symbian phones.

"We must also analyze the fanboy factor> The commitment to the Nokia X varies the focus from excellence to the acquisition cost, being terminals that enjoy the prestige of the brand, but not so much. In fact, its performance is not bad, but none of the analyzes distinguishes it by its fluidity and speed"

And this may end up harming the Lumia brand, which could mean the immediate closure of the evolution of the Android family and a similar abandonment to the one produced by WP7 clients, or the debacle from BlackBerry.

On the other hand, it is also true that if the rumors of the branding change of the Lumia name, replacing the current Surface, finally take place, the Nokia X would be clearly differentiated from the Windows Phone range. And the door would be left open to a market, that of Android, which, despite being very competitive, is still the one with the highest penetration today.

Finally, there is a factor of “fanboyism” that makes us tear our hair out when Microsoft or Nokia - faithful followers of Windows Phone - introduce other operating systems in the purity of their range of products. When in reality at this time there are dozens of announcements from new traditionally Android companies that are launching new Windows Phone smartphones without giving rise to these doubts and analysis; with the naturalness expected in the opening of a new line of business.

In XatakaWindows | Three's a crowd: Microsoft, Nokia and the effect of their Android on Windows Phone