Nokia XL Review and Verdict
Nokia, a Finnish giant, has launched its first android phone Nokia XL. Nokia XL looks like the enlarged version of the Nokia X. Nokia XL is a lower-mid range dual-SIM Android smartphone from Nokia.
Spec:
Nokia XL runs on 1GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor. It comes with a 5 inch IPS LCD screen having a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. The device comes with 2-megapixel front camera and a 5-megapixel rear one with LED flash. The devices has 768MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage and microSD card slot. It is equipped with 3G, Wi-Fi n, Bluetooth v3.0 & A-GPS. The Nokia XL smartphone has 1500 mAb battery and weighs 128.7 grams. There is also a microSD card slot so that the storage can be expanded by up to 32GB.
In the box:
Handset, Warranty card, Battery, Charger, microUSB-to-USB cable, and User manuals.
Design:
Nokia XL comes with a 5 inch IPS LCD screen with capacitive multitouch. The screen has a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels taking its pixel density to a little over 186 ppi. Considering these numbers, the screen is average on sharpness. As this is an IPS LCD screen, it has wide viewing angles and decent brightness levels. The design of the Nokia XL is very similar to the Nokia Lumia line-up of smartphones which are based on Windows Phone platform.
The body of the Nokia XL is made up of polycarbonate. It comes in various colour choices such as Red, Black, Yellow, Cyan, White and Green. There is just a single capacitive back button at the front. The volume rockers and power button are on the right hand side while the loudspeaker is placed at the back. It comes with a 1500 mAh Li-Ion battery which can last through a day of normal usage.
Camera and Multimedia:
This Android smartphone from Nokia comes with comes with 2-megapixel front camera and a 5-megapixel rear one with LED flash. We found that the phone’s 2MP front camera takes good quality selfies even in indoor lighting. This camera can also record FWVGA (854 x 480) pixels which is below par even considering some low-end Android smartphones. The device comes with music and video players along with Nokia MixRadio application which can be used to stream music for free.
Software:
The Nokia XL comes with forked version of Android v4.4 KitKat which they are calling it as Nokia X software platform v1.0. There is Nokia App store where a curated collection of Android applications and games will be published. It does not have google apps like Gmail, Google Maps and other google services. All the Google services are replaced with Microsoft and Nokia services such as HERE Maps, Microsoft One Drive, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Office, etc. The custom UI completely resembles Live Tiles on Microsoft Windows Phone.
The Nokia XL uses Live Tile-style widgets. All your apps and all the core phone features appear as square tiles.
Battery:
It comes with a 1500 mAh Li-Ion battery which can last through a day of normal usage.
Connectivity:
There are some decent connectivity options that are included in the Nokia XL such as dual SIM card slots, both of which are compatible with 3G HSPA GSM networks. It also includes Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth v3.0 + HS, A-GPS and microUSB v2.0 port. There is also an option to convert the device in to a Wi-Fi Hotspot so that near-by devices can access Internet through it.
Performance:
Nokia XL runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8225 dual core chipset, with maximum clock speed of 1Ghz. Most of the part, the UI is smooth, but you will find lags here and there during application usage, often due to a low end processor and 768MB of RAM.
Verdict:
Looks like a good choice. Users can get all the advantages of a budget smartphone plus it has a user-removable battery so you don’t have to throw it away after 2-3 years when the battery dies. Nokia maps that users can use on the go without paying for 3G and, the good part is that it’s dual SIM. Sounds a pretty good choice for anyone who doesn’t need or can’t afford the very latest and most powerful smartphone.
