phone 14 – nokia x2 dual sim

image - gsmarena

trying to see how a low-tiered forked android works, i bout the nokia x2 dual sim in 2015, that was released in 2014. this was the first attempt of nokia under microsoft, back then, to use android system on their phones. it was also my attempt to use another nokia as my main phone. sony xperia miro was my main phone since i bought it in 2013, so i thought of replacing it with my first favorite brand. will it replace my phone of two years?

since i have phones bigger than nokia x2 dual sim, in terms of footprint and display, i was able to handle it seamlessly. it may be larger than my main phone that time, but not that much to be of concern. the body is plastic, quite fingerprint magnet, but it was nicely built. the 4.3 inches ips display has a decent resolution of 480p. i like how nokia placed the clearblack display into the phone, along with the glance screen. it was not as black as the oleds nor other ips displays. but at that time, it was decent.

like i said, nokia x2 dual sim is the first attempt of microsoft to make an android phone. this is not to be confused with the nokia x series feature phones. the forked android system is based on jelly bean, being run by a low-tier snapdragon 200, coupled with 1gb/4gb of memory configuration. that is how basic it goes, apart from the fact that it has few apps installable due to some apps needing google services.

5mp/vga rear/front camera configuration is also basic. decent; has some camera modes. but no interesting stuff about it, really.

enjoy music via fm radio or through your music library. loudspeaker is good. 3.5mm audio and wireless audio are good.

sadly, it failed to replaced my main phone that time, sony xperia miro. yes, it has larger display and better blacks. the interface is straightforward which is ideal if i want to access my apps as quickly as possible. but it is quite limited. it is nowhere near my main phone that consolidates my social media accounts and local data in a natural manner. i also prefer the sound quality of my main phone. despite the nokia x2 dual sim having better soc, there are more noticeable lags on it than on sony xperia miro.

so, like the previous phones that i lose interest of keeping, it became a household phone until i can no longer trace where it was. as i really do not have the willingness to trace it.

since i remember how difficult this phone was as a phone without google services, i eventually linked it to what has happened to huawei, and still happening. i cannot blame those people avoiding huawei phones for the lack of google services, which means some apps will not work or will have limited use. it is true that there are some workarounds, like sideloading the google services, not just the apps. however, when it has to be updated, you have to do the same thing over again. huawei is also doing its part by enticing app developers. it is also interesting how the harmony os will be used on more huawei devices and provide their own mobile services. but such interest, lead me to think if android open source project be brought back at its prime again. it would be nice if it will be back on its root – ideally secure and each app are only working on their own sandbox, no peeking of other apps’ data. but that means, less revenue for app developers. and as you know it, most people will go where the money is.