At the 2014 Mobile World Congress, Nokia has released five new affordable handsets, including Nokia X, a family of smartphones that run Android apps, Microsoft services and signature Nokia experiences.
Stephen Elop, executive vice president of Nokia’s Devices & Services, commented on the launches: “Nokia has connected billions of people around the world, and today we demonstrated how our portfolio is designed to connect the next billion people to great experiences.”
“Our deliberate approach is to offer four tiers of products including our affordable entry-level devices like the new Nokia 220; our entry-level Asha touch phones like the new Nokia Asha 230; our new Nokia X, X+ and XL smartphones primarily for growth economies; and our Lumia portfolio, which is where we introduce the greatest innovation and provide full compatibility with the Microsoft experience,” he added.
The Nokia X family features a fresh, tile-based user interface inspired by its Lumia family. All devices come with Fastlane, a screen which lets people switch between their favorite apps more smoothly. People can access curated, quality-tested apps from Nokia Store, more than a dozen third-party app stores and by sideloading.
The Nokia X family, says the company, is also an affordable introduction to popular Microsoft services, including free cloud storage using OneDrive. With the purchase of any Nokia X family smartphone in select markets, people will get one month of Skype’s Unlimited World Subscription for a limited time, ideal to make international calls to landlines in more than 60 countries and to mobile phones in 8 countries.
The first device, the Nokia X, comes with a 4” IPS capacitive display and 3MP camera. The Nokia X+ is optimised for multimedia enthusiasts, who can enjoy even more games, music, photos and video thanks to more memory and storage. Both the Nokia X and X+ will be available in bright green, bright red, cyan, yellow, black and white . The third family member, the Nokia XL, boasts a 5” display with 2MP front-facing camera – ideal for Skype video calls – and a 5MP rear-facing, autofocus camera with flash. The Nokia XL will be available in bright green, orange, cyan, yellow, black and white. The entire Nokia X family is powered by the Qualcomm® Snapdragon dual core processor and supports Dual SIM, letting people switch SIM cards to get better tariffs.
The Nokia X will go on sale immediately, and rolling-out in Asia-Pacific, Europe, India, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. The Nokia X+ and Nokia XL are expected to roll out in these markets starting early second quarter.
Nokia also unveiled two further handsets designed for people experiencing the Internet for the first time. Adding to the popular Asha range of devices, the Nokia Asha 230 is the ideal introduction to full-touch mobile phones. The Nokia Asha 230 includes all the benefits of the Asha Platform, including Fastlane and access to popular social apps like Line, WeChat and WhatsApp. One swipe up from the lockscreen activates the Nokia Asha 230’s camera, and one touch enables people to share images to their favourite social network. With a forthcoming software update, the Nokia Asha 230 will introduce 7GB of free cloud storage on Microsoft OneDrive, and the option to automatically back up photos to the cloud.
Nokia also introduced its lowest-priced, data-enabled phone: the beautifully designed Nokia 220, which makes the mobile Internet accessible to more people around the world. With its 2.4” colour screen, dust- and splash-proof keypad, the Nokia 220 is a well-crafted choice for people experiencing mobility and the Internet for the first time, with Facebook and Twitter pre-loaded and Bing as the default search engine in the pre-loaded Nokia Xpress browser. Retail prices for the Nokia 220 start at EUR 29. It will be available for sale immediately in single and Dual SIM variants and rolling-out in Asia-Pacific, Europe, India, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.
