How Nokia Learned to Love Android

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How Nokia Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Android

It's happened. Nokia just debuted and Android phone. And the world is still turning.

This, on the surface, doesn't make an ounce of sense. Nokia is, after all, the chief proponent of Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system, going all-in with the platform in a strategic alliancethat began in early 2011. The relationship was so close that Microsoft eventually decided to buyNokia's hardware business, a deal that should close in the next few months.

As of today, that business includes the Nokia X, a phone that runs Android, the platform operated by Microsoft arch-nemesis Google. By launching an Android phone, Nokia has invited questions about its commitment to Windows Phone and even the viability of Microsoft's platform in general. That's a very odd thing for such a close strategic partner to do.

But Nokia isn't worried about how it looks to release an Android phone because it's got something much bigger to worry about: Windows Phone hasn't been the powerful engine for its phones that it was supposed to be. The company's smartphone sales recently took a nosedive, declining 7% during the typically strong holiday buying season and 29% year-over-year.

The Long Road for Windows Phone

Despite recent signs of life, Windows Phone's market share is only at about 4% worldwide, and Nokia phones barely register on smartphone tallies. Those are tough numbers to look at for a company whose name was once synonymous with the cellphone in some countries.

And it's in exactly those countries where Nokia is struggling to convince people to go Windows Phone. And no wonder: Windows Phone's app catalog still pales in comparison to Android, and Android smartphones are available in places like India for prices as cheap as $50. By contrast the cheapest Lumia (the 520) goes for about $135. Why buy the pricey Lumia when it can't even run a proper YouTube app?

Nokia's Master Plan

Nokia is floating in a different boat, though, and it's adopting Android in a completely different way. For starters, this is a forked version of Android, similar to what Amazon has done with its Kindle Fire tablets. All Google services are replaced with Nokia and Microsoft services (Here Maps for Google Maps, Outlook for Gmail, etc.). Even the user interface looks very Windows Phone.

Another thing Nokia has going for it: brand goodwill. Although Nokia smartphones are still a rarity in most places, when all mobile phones are included, the company's market share is No. 2 overall (after Samsung), according to IDC. If you like your Nokia feature phone, and the company drops a cheap Android number in front of you with all the apps you want, there's a good chance you'll give it first pick.

Or so Nokia's logic goes. The final piece of the puzzle is actually the person's next phone, the one they buy 6 months, a year, or two years after the Nokia X. The mission of Nokia's Android double-agent is to sow the seeds of a Lumia fan into its owner through deep connections to that ecosystem's services: Bing, Here Maps, OneDrive, Outlook, Skype and others. When it comes time to upgrade, Nokia will do everything it can to steer them toward a Lumia.

Assuming lots of people buy the Nokia X, assuming Windows Phone's app catalog accelerates big time, and assuming Nokia's and Microsoft's services are good enough to win loyal fans, Windows Phone may finally get the rocket sled it needs to really be a leader in the smartphone race.

That's a lot of assumptions. If any part of that chain breaks, Lumia and Windows Phone are in trouble, and the forked flavor of Android that's in the Nokia X could end up becoming Microsoft's mobile OS of choice.

In other words, Nokia, there's still a lot to worry about.

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Nokia Plans to Use Cheap Phones

Nokia Unveils an Android Phone, the Nokia X

Nokia just did the unthinkable: The company, such a reliable Windows Phone partner thatMicrosoft is acquiring most of it, has unveiled an Android phone, the Nokia X. But if you look closely, you can see why.

The Nokia X, launching today at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, isn't just your run-of-the-mill Android handset. The device, the first of several Android products from Nokia, is a budget model (just 89 euros or about $120) that runs a highly modified version of Android.

Similar to what Amazon has done with its Kindle Fire tablets, Nokia has taken out all the "Googleness" from Android and replaced it with its own services as well as Microsoft's. It's even designed the icons to look like what you might find on one of Nokia's Lumia phones.

"Nokia X is a new affordable smartphone family from Nokia," explains Jussi Nevanlinna, vice president of marketing for Nokia's phones. "X stands for 'crossover' between Microsoft cloud, Android apps and Nokia. When we say family, we really mean it. During 2014 you'll see a number of products arriving in this family."

Nokia hopes its first Android model appeals to — shocker — feature-phone owners in developing markets looking to upgrade to a cheap smartphone. The big advantage Android gives over its home-grown Lumia phones is of course apps. The platform's app catalog is over a million strong.

Although Google Play isn't on board the Nokia X, several third-party app stores are preloaded, such as Yandex. Those stores are often more popular than Google Play in the very countries Nokia is targeting.

In addition to the third-party stores, Nokia also provides its own. The Nokia Store is on the Nokia X, providing a curated (read: whitelisted) selection of Android apps submitted by developers. Nokia says developers won't need to change their apps much to get into its store, although your mileage may vary if your app makes significant use of Google services.

If you happen to be upgrading from a Nokia Asha phone, things will be even more familiar: The Nokia X sports Asha's signature "Fastlane" home screen, which shows all the most recent things you've been doing on the phone, in a single stream. Pull down from the top of the screen, and you'll see upcoming events from your calendar.

"When we studied consumers who use low-end Android products, we found out that they are pretty overwhelmed by having so many apps," says Nevanlinna. "What we did here is we put everything that you use frequently in one place, on one screen, and surface everything there so you have quick access to your favorites. That's Fastlane."

Spec-wise, the Nokia X is a low-end phone. It packs a 1GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, and it has 512MB of RAM. Storage is a mere 4GB, but you can augment it with a microSD card. The 4-inch screen has a resolution of 480 x 800, and the camera only has 3 megapixels. This being a phone for the developing market, it's capable of holding dual SIM cards.

Nokia is releasing the phone in India, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, South America, Western Europe and the Middle East. Tellingly, it won't come to North America, Korea or Japan. It'll go on sale in early March.

I got a little hands-on time with the Nokia X, and it's definitely a few strides behind today's powerhouses like the iPhone or Samsung Galaxy line. Applications took noticeably longer to load, and performing anything other than the most elementary function introduces lag.

However, the design feels good in the hand, and the display looks perfectly fine. I liked that Nokia designed its app iconography on Android to resemble Windows Phone, although the tiles obviously aren't "live" like they are in that environment. Icons to Nokia and Microsoft services are front and center, although the home-field advantage doesn't count as much on Android, and the apps don't run any faster.

Still, Nokia's certainly done everything it can to try and make a Lumia fan out of whoever buys the Nokia X. Clearly the phone is intended to be a kind of Trojan Horse into the Android ecosystem, with the theory being it'll cultivate Nokia/Microsoft fans from its services and low price.

We'll see. But the Nokia X is also notable for being the first Android phone from a company who, until now, was apparently willing to try any operating system but the one owned by Google.

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