First impressions: Nokia XL

As promised, Nokia is launching the Android-powered Nokia XL smartphone in the Indian market, later this month. The phone sports a 5-inch display and is powered by a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor with 768MB of RAM. The phone offers the same software experience as offered by the Nokia X but is essentially targeted at users who want a bigger display.

We got an opportunity to spend some time with the phone at a media event hosted by the company. Here's what we think of the Nokia XL:

Nokia XL looks like the enlarged version of the Nokia X. The phone features the same rectangular design and a polycarbonate colourful shell, which feels a bit chunky (it weighs 190gram). Having said that, the phone feels very solid to hold, and we did not observe any squeaks or wobbles despite the phone sporting a removable back cover.



The front of the phone sports a 5-inch WVGA LCD display (480 X 800p, 187ppi). The pixel density is lower than that of the Nokia X due to the phone's larger display but the phone's user interface, which majorly consists of tiles similar to Windows Phone, masks it and we didn't notice pixilation. Viewing angles were good but we were not able to take the phone under the sun so it's difficult to comment on the sunlight legibility. Overall, the display looks decent to look at. An Asha-like capacitive button with the arrow label sits below the display.



The right edge of the phone features the volume rocker and Power/ Screen lock keys that also sport the same colour as the phone. The micro-USB port is placed at the bottom edge, while the 3.5mm headset jack sits at the top.

The back of the phone features a matte finish and looks good. It sports a 5MP camera lens and an LED flash, located just above lens. The speaker outlet is also located at the back, towards the bottom. We're happy that Nokia has equipped the phone with an LED flash to help users take pictures in low-light conditions.

The body shell is removable and hides a battery compartment that houses a 2,000mAh removable battery, two slots for sim cards (micro-sim) and a microSD card slot.

Nokia XL is powered by a 1GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and 768MB RAM. It comes with 4GB internal storage that can be expanded up to 32GB via microSD card.

The phone runs a highly customized version of Android (based on Android Open Source Project 4.1.2) that has been stripped of Google services and apps including the Play Store. Nokia has bundled a number of apps with the phone including BBM, Facebook, Twitter, Skype, and Opera. The phone doesn't include the Google Play store but instead offers Nokia Store for downloading apps. Third-party Android app stores can also be installed and used.



As with Nokia X, the phone's interface is very different from regular Android phones and borrows some features from Asha platform and Windows Phone. The UI is split into Fastlane and a tile-based launcher. The Fastlane aggregates notifications, open and frequently used apps, and personalizes these as per the user's preference. The other screen, accessible by swiping left or right, includes tiles (some of them being live tiles) that are similar to the Windows Phone start screen. Some of the tiles can even be resized. However, unlike Windows Phone there's no app list, and as you install apps the phone keeps on adding tiles to the same launcher.

There's a pull-down tray similar to Android and Asha phones that only houses toggles for phone settings. The UI may take some time getting used to, however, it helps Nokia in differentiating the user experience from other Android phones.

Nokia X comes with Nokia's own app store, HERE Drive and Maps for location service, and Nokia MixRadio music service. Nokia is also offering 10GB free space on Microsoft's OneDrive cloud storage service.

In our brief use, we did not encounter any issues while navigating through the Fastlane and the app launcher screens and there was no lag while launching apps. We found the experience better than the Nokia X. Having said that, we'll need to spend more time with the phone to comment on its multitasking abilities. Given the modest specifications, we don't expect the phone to run high-end graphics rich Android games.

We found that the phone's 2MP front camera takes decent quality selfies even in indoor lighting. We didn't really expect the phone's rear camera to take great shots given the phone's price but it is definitely better than the one on the Nokia X. It fits the bill when it comes to taking pictures that one can share on social networks, but we did observe some shutter lag. We'll have more in our review.

Nokia has not announced the price of the phone, yet but we expect it to be priced in the range of Rs 10,000 to Rs 11,500. At this price, the phone appears to offer a good experience complete with a rich ecosystem of apps and services, and a utilitarian yet sturdy form factor. We'll have a detailed review of the smartphone for you soon.