14 DAY TRIAL // Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia appears to be getting closer and closer to the official release of its first Android-based smartphone, which is said to be called Nokia X, as the company is already seeding the new phone to developers in India.
The smartphone was spotted en route to the country before, and previous info suggested that it was under heavy testing at Nokia in the country, but it appears that people outside the company are also receiving access to it.
Moreover, a recent article on BGR India claims that the smartphone could make an official appearance in the country in early April, around the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Nokia X is said to be running under an AOSP version of Android, the open source code of the platform, but it will lack Google’s services on top of it.
However, Nokia is expected to load the device with its own set of products, including access to an app store for the platform, currently called Asha on Linux (AoL) internally.
In order to ensure that applications for the device are available at launch, Nokia has started seeding the phone to developers in India. Moreover, it appears that the company has managed to secure most of the top 100 apps in Google Play Store for its AoL.
Apparently, developers can configure their applications for Nokia’s storefront without major changes, as the only thing they need to do is to remove all Google services callouts from the software.
“If the app does not call out any Google API, one can even sideload the same app APK that is available on the Play store,” a developer reportedly said.
Nokia X is expected to make an official appearance next week at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, but it might not arrive on shelves until March. In India, it is expected to cost around Rs. 6,500 ($105/€77), though an official confirmation on this has yet to emerge.
In fact, it appears that the company is actually planning on pricing the phone lower right from the start, instead of cutting its cost following the initial rollout. Stay tuned for more on the matter.