Nokia X2-01 - Well Equipped for its Price

Every once in awhile it’s a real treat to come across a low priced handset that’s designed to make the average user feel like they’ve got everything they need at their fingertips. While Nokia’s higher end mobile segment has been taking brutal hits, their lower budget phones have still managed to retain some semblance of their longstanding quality and attention to consumer requirements. The Nokia E5 and Nokia C3 devices have been faring quite well and I have a good feeling about this, the Nokia X2-01 as well. Here’s a closer look.

Form Factor
Nokia’s C3 came off with a slightly more sophisticated design form in their lower budget segment and the X2-01 has taken on a slightly sportier look. The Full QWERTY keypad is just as comfortable to use as the C3’s and the 2.4-inch TFT LCD (sporting a 320 x 240 pixel resolution) is easy on the eyes in all lighting conditions. Nokia’s thrown in a dedicated music key on one side of the five way nav-pad as well as a messaging key on the other side. Getting back to the keypad, the buttons are prominently raised just enough to separate them from each other and are soft enough to be used at long stretches. The large space bar also helps enhance typing speed.

A singular flap on the left hand side can be peeled open to reveal a micro USB slot for USB connectivity/charging and a hot swap microSD card slot for external memory. The X2-01 supports up to 8GB easily. Strapped onto the rear is a VGA camera. I’m sure you're thinking Nokia could have gone with at least a 1.3 megapixel camera but that would have increased the price a bit as well. A charging port and 3.5mm handsfree socket are conveniently located at the top of the handset. With its red trim and slightly ‘Sony Ericsson – Human Curvature-ish’ design form, the X2 fares quite well in the looks department.

Features and Performance
Interface
The X2-01 runs on a Symbian Series 40 platform, but of course it’s far superior to the older versions. In fact, this new version looks more like an S60 OS. It offers a handy, quick-access styled desktop that’s designed to let you access your social networking accounts, emails, favourite contacts and also has a provision for a frequently used shortcut bar. This ‘Active Homescreen’ lets you stay connected to the web and your social feeds at all times so you won’t miss a beat. The four direction keys on the nav-pad can be revised to access any app you wish to assign them to.

Sporty looking handset

There’s no lag when it comes to switching screens or accessing applications so while it may fall a tad short of being a smart phone, it’ll get whatever job you require from it done with ease.

Media
The on board media player is capable of near crystal clear audio at really high decibel levels. With EQ Presets and the option to create your own settings via a five band graphic equalizer and Stereo Widening you will enjoy the audio playback on this handset. It supports mp3, AAC, eAAC, eAAC+ and WMA and has ID3 tag and album art support. An FM radio with RDS support is also onboard and reception was not bad at all in most locations. It took just about 12 seconds to locate and store all available stations.

5 band EQ setting for you to customize

When it comes to video you’ll have to go a little low res. The X2-01 supports MP4 files but only if they’re coded to a 320 x 240 sized resolution. 3GP files will play without an issue. It’s quite comfortable for viewing videos though I don’t recommend it for too long in moving vehicles.

For the mobile gamer you can download and install games off the Ovi Store or any Java MIDP 2.0 game off your PC and transfer it to the device via your memory card. A few games like Bounce Tales, Diamond Rush, Block'D and the still extremely popular Sudoku have also been thrown in.