Nokia just revealed the X2 Dual SIM, the successor to the not-so popular Nokia X. Microsoft is taking another leap of faith with the X-series and on paper at least, the X2 seems to have a much stronger chance of making an impact compared to its predecessor. The phone will go on sale immediately starting at €99 (without taxes and subsidies) in select countries.
We’ve yet to get a confirmation from Nokia about which countries these are and when we’ll see it in India. Roughly translated, the X2 should land on our shores for about Rs 10,000, taking taxes and duty into consideration. Needless to say, Microsoft will either phase out the X with the X2 or simply push it further down the price segment in place of some of the Asha phones.
The Nokia X2 Dual SIM packs in a larger 4.3-inch display with the same pixel resolution of 800 x 480. However, the new phone also gets the ClearBlack treatment to the IPS panel, which should make it livelier. There’s also scratch-resistant glass for added protection. Powering the phone is a faster dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 chipset and the much needed 1GB of RAM. The camera has been bumped up to a 5MP auto-focus sensor with LED flash and we also have a front-facing VGA camera. There’s the same 4GB of onboard storage and expandable memory of up to 32GB.
Design-wise, the X2 Dual SIM features glossy shells with a translucent outer layer, similar to what we saw on the Lumia 620. There’s also a ‘Home’ button this time around, in addition to the ‘Back’ button.
Fastlane is still present but in addition to this, the X2 also features an ‘apps list’, like the Lumia phones. This lets users only keep their most frequently used apps on the homescreen, thus avoiding clutter.
Last but not least, the X2 also features an upgraded battery to 1800mAh. The phone will also come bundled with apps like HERE Maps and MixRadio. You’ll be able to download apps through the Nokia store as well as third-party stores like 1 Mobile Market.
We have to hand it to Microsoft for taking criticism quite constructively for the Nokia X and fixing most, if not all, of its shortcomings in the X2. If they can pull off a street price of Rs 10,000 or below by the time it launches in India, the X platform might be worth a second look.
