Microsoft's smartphones may not be making waves in the U.S., but the software maker desperately wanting a piece of the mobile industry has turned to emerging markets for survival.
Just several days after Microsoft rolled out the Nokia Lumia 630, the first Windows phone with dual-SIM capabilities, the company launched another entry-level smartphone in the budding smartphone market in India. The Nokia XL is the third in Microsoft's family of Nokia X smartphones designed specifically for users transitioning from feature phones to affordable smartphones.
Nokia's latest handset dips in the phablet category, with a decent 5-inch 480 x 800 resolution display. Under the hood, the Nokia XL is powered by a 1 GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor with 768MB of RAM and 4GB of disk space, which is expandable via microSD slot to 32GB. It also features a 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 2-megapixel camera in front.
The phone runs on a highly "customized" Android OS that does not provide access to the Google Play Store. Instead, Microsoft installed its own app store where users can download Nokia apps and "several" other apps designed for Android.
"After receiving a great response with the Nokia X, which introduced the category to this market, we are now bringing the much awaited Nokia XL and X+ to our consumers. Nokia XL, our flagship offering within the Nokia X family, comes packaged with a large screen experience with a superlative front camera and a wide array of apps, offering a great smartphone experience at an affordable price point," Viral Oza, Nokia India Sales director of marketing, told the press.
The timing of the launch couldn't be any worse, though. The Nokia XL comes hot on the heels of Motorola's entry-level Moto E, which retails for the extremely low price of Rs 6,999 or just around $120. The Nokia XL, on the other hand, retails for Rs 11,489, which is roughly equivalent to $196. Nokia will also have to ward off competition from homegrown smartphones such as the quad-core Karbonn Titanium S1 Plus which retails for Rs 5,800 and another quad-core Android phone, the Intex Aqua i5 HD, which boasts of a 13-megapixel camera and sells for Rs 9,990.
Microsoft would probably get a leg up for higher-end features on its Nokia XL, but the handset barely surpasses the much cheaper Moto E on two fronts. The Nokia phone boasts of a 2,000 mAh battery Nokia claims to run on 16 hours of talk-time. It is just a little bit ahead of the Moto E's 1,980 mAh battery. Both handsets have 5-megapixel rear cameras, although the Moto E doesn't feature an LED flash. However, the Moto E runs on Android KitKat and a 1.2 GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor. It has 1GB of RAM and an expandable 4GB storage.
Microsoft also launched the Nokia X+ for Rs 8,399, a price point much closer to Motorola's offering in the same category. Its 1 GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, 768MB RAM, 3-megapixel camera and modified Android operating system, however, do not outrival the Moto E's higher-end specs.
