Continuing the momentum created by Nokia‘s recent string of releases, the newest addition to the X-series of mobile phones was announced April 29th in India. The Nokia X2, which was revealed only days after the announcement of the new Nokia N8, is expected to make its appearance in the Indian market sometime in late June and spreading to European networks shortly thereafter. The X2 will help round off the X-series family of phones, joining the high-end X6, the China-exclusive X5, and the similarly-designed X3. As the numbering implies, the X2 is intended to fall in below the X3 as the low-end model of the series, though it is still a solid mid-range phone in the overall mobile market. The X2 has an entry level price to go along with its entry level X-series position: early estimates place the cost at about £73 ($112) before taxes and subsidies—a great deal, considering all the features the phone has to offer.

Following the path blazed by the X3, the X2 will be based on the popular Series 40 platform, further establishing the widely-used Symbian OS/Series interface and accompanying services like the Ovi suite into the X-series family. Additionally, it takes some styling inspiration from the other X-series phones, especially the X3, sporting a similar, candybar layout with striking detail that measures a slim 13mm in thickness and weighs in at a feather-light 81g. Currently produced with only two design options—two-tone colour designs of black with bold red accents or silver with blue. Each with a high-gloss finish—the X2 is an elegant-looking phone with modern, polished styling. Navigation is accomplished with the use of Nokia’s Five-Way Navi™ with a nice, soft touch for ease-of-use.

Featuring a 2.2-inch QVGA (320×240 pixels) TFT screen capable of displaying up to 250,000 colours and a 5-megapixel camera and video recorder with 4x zoom and LED flash, the X2 serves as a fairly capable platform for amateur photographers looking for the perfect profile picture or capturing a candid moment, and may in fact be the cheapest 5-megapixel camera phone currently available. Flickr and Facebook connectivity are available at the touch of a button, allowing for quick and easy uploads of any pictures/video. Likewise, Nokia’s own Share on Ovi allows for access to additional social media with video, picture and music sharing capabilities.

To go along with the visual elements, the X2 features a dual-speaker system for clear sound, dedicated music keys for easy navigation and playback, FM stereo with programmable radio setup, and the ability to use microSD cards to add up to 16GB of storage. Coupled with the option for a 3.5mm headphone jack for wired headphones, or Bluetooth 2.1 for a wireless headset alternative, the X2 also serves as a solid mobile music device and features full speed USB 2.0 to make transferring music quick and painless. Additionally, either the Ovi Player client or Windows Media Player 11 can be used to easily manage and sync music without worrying about the hassle of compatibility. In some locations the Comes With Music option is available, allowing for unlimited free music downloads from the Nokia Music Store. The X2 features a lithium ion battery that allows for up to 26 hours of music playback time (idle/medium volume)—much longer than the standard MP3 player—810 minutes of talk time, or 540 hours of standby time.

In addition to the hardware, the X2 comes packaged with a nice set of applications, and there are many more applications and productivity tools readily available for purchase on the Ovi Store. The included Opera browser provides convenient web-surfing with video streaming and Adobe Flash capabilities and Java functionality. Easy-to-use messaging capabilities are included in the form of Nokia’s Messaging Service 2.0 e-mail, as well as Ovi Chat instant messaging. To help keep personal information organized, the X2 easily syncs with MS Outlook to update contacts, calendar items, and notes. If you find yourself in need of something to occupy your time or just want to have some fun, the X2 also comes with a number of surprisingly entertaining games, with more available for purchase from the Ovi Store. You can look to see what Nokia X2 deals are available, or read some more Nokia X2 reviews if this phone may take your fancy.

The X2′s older brother, the X5, is targeted towards Chinese markets and is expected to make a debut sometime this quarter. It features a very similar styling to the X2, with a candybar layout, a 5-megapixel camera and 2.4-inch QVGA TFT screen capable of displaying up to 16 million colours—far more than the X2—allowing for a bright, crisp display perfectly suited to video playback and picture viewing without looking washed out in daylight. Available in three bold colours—red, black, and white—the X5′s striking detail and sleek styling really stands out among other mobiles.

Customized for China Mobile, the world’s largest network operator, the X5 uses the TD-SCDMA protocol rather than the GSM technology favoured by Nokia and used in the other X-series phones. The X5 runs on the Series 60 user interface platform with the Symbian operating system, and is the first S60 phone to use TD-SCDMA, making good on a promise made by Nokia in 2008 to deliver a combination of the two.
All of the mobile media player and messaging functionality of the X2 can be found on the X5 with a few bonuses. With dedicated music keys and easy access to the CMCC music client, the X5 offers a similar music experience to the X2, and has a headphone stereo jack and Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity for headset connection. The X5 features 256MB of internal memory, which is more than five times the native storage found on the X2, but is only compatible with microSD cards sporting 8GB capacity or less. Additionally, the X5 features access to the joint Mobile Market-Ovi Store, allowing for a wide selection of music, applications, games, and productivity programs. The CMCC Fetion instant messaging client comes preloaded on the phone for easy chatting with friends and family, and the camera allows for video chat as well. The X5 features a GPS receiver which offers support for A-GPS functionality, and a selection of S60 applications which make for an enjoyable high-end mobile experience on an affordable phone. Although only expected for release in China you can read more Nokia X5 reviews in the review section, or check out the Nokia X5 deals section should Nokia announce any plans to release this handset in the European market.

Tags: Nokia, Nokia-N8, Nokia-X2, Nokia-X3, Nokia-X5, Nokia-X6

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 4th, 2010 at 10:37 am and is filed under Nokia News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.