Pros: All Roses
Cons: The Thorny Side
Not the classic, widget-laden interface Android users like. From what we can see, the interface is more Windows Phone and Asha than Android. Yes, we are sure people will find a way around it, but if you are looking for a classic Android skin with lots of glittery widgets, this does not seem to be it. Not from what we have seen so far. No access to Google Play, although one can install most Android apps on the phone. Nokia has put its own spin on Android, and that includes putting Google Play out of the device. Yes, you can install Android apps and there are alternative app stores, but many of the appy types will find this a bit of a deal breaker, we are afraid. That said, we bet someone will have some form of Google Play on the devices in next to no time, although how well that works might be another story. Fears that the hardware might not be quite up to handling heavy duty tasks. For all their design solidity, the X Series worthies are not exactly hardware monsters. Dual core processors backed up by 512 MB and 768 MB RAM could see some games/apps stutter. Yes, they should be able to handle most routine tasks well, but we can see well-entrenched local players brandishing spec sheets to sway consumers. Android fan boys will complain about the absence of regular, sweet-named Android updates for these devices. They did so in the case of the Kindle Fire, and we see the activity being repeated in the case of the X Series. Nokia’s challenge here will be to ensure that it delivers alternatives to the features being provided by “regular” Android updates through its own fixes. Judging by its record on Windows Phone and Symbian, it is more than capable of doing so. But that is unlikely to silence the complaints.
