Nokia XL announced at MWC 2014: Nokia’s Android vision in a 5-inch phablet

While everyone believed that Nokia will be announcing one Android phone, the company took MWC by surprise with three Android-based phones. The Nokia X and X+ are the 4-inch budget phones, while the Nokia XL is the 5-inch phablet version of Nokia’s Android reworking.   Just like its smaller siblings, the Nokia XL will be available in dual-SIM configuration in Q2 this year and thanks to the larger display and better camera, it sports a higher 109 euros price tag. Officially, the Nokia XL will run the Nokia X software platform that’s based on Android Open Source Project, with Microsoft and Nokia services baked in, instead of Google’s services.   The 5-inch IPS display might sound good, but it has a lowly WVGA resolution of 800x480 pixels, which might just be a tad too low-res for a display this size. We’ll have to see it in person, before making any judgment though.   Just like the other X phones, the XL boasts the Snapdragon S4 dual-core 1GHz processor, but it gets 768 MB of RAM, along with the 4GB internal storage. There’s also the provision for a microSD card slot. It gets a 2-megapixel front-facing camera along with a 5-megapixel primary shooter, which also has an LED flash.   In terms of connectivity options, the XL gets Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 and 3G for cellular connectivity. The 2000 mAh battery is removable and is rated for 16 hours of talk time on 2G and 13 hours on 3G, along with a standby time of 30 days.   Users can sideload apps, and get access to third-party app stores and Nokia’s own store. You will find Microsoft essentials such as Skype, Outlook and OneDrive on the Nokia XL, while search is powered by Bing. Users will get one month of free Skype calls to mobiles and landlines when they purchase the Nokia XL.