Nokia X2-01 Review

Page 1 - Introduction, Design & Build Page 2 - UI, Performance, Price & Verdict

Nokia's C3-00 was its first handset that stepped into the ring of the inexpensive QWERTY phones flooding the Indian market by Indo-Chinese manufacturers. But at Rs. 5,800, the C3 is still a few thousands above average price range of the competition.

The X2-01 is an aggressively priced sibling of the C3 that cuts a few corners to get to a price point that will be more appealing to the cash-strapped, QWERTY keyboard desiring phone buyer. Let's find out whether this phone doesn't give up too much to attain that under Rs. 4,000 price tag.

Design and Build:

The Nokia X2-01 is designed differently than the C3-00. Where the C3 had a nice curvaceous body that we adored, the X2-01 has pointy edges and a noticeable use of cheaper quality materials. But fear not, the phone still feels fairly sturdy and shouldn't shatter into pieces after a few drops. The X2-01's design is a bit longish but doesn't cause any inconvenience while carrying it in the pocket.

The screen is exactly the same as the C3 -- a 2.4 incher with a QVGA resolution. Other than the lack of brightness control, we had no complaints with the display given the pricing. Content looks clear, fonts are nice and big thus bettering readability, and with a white background, text is fairly visible even under direct sunlight. The buttons above the keyboard click well and accurately. We liked the messaging and music player shortcut buttons to either sides of the D-pad.

The QWERTY keyboard is more or less similarly designed like the C3's, but for some reason, we felt the type-ability of the C3 was a tad better. Not to say the X2-01's QWERTY is bad -- it offers decent tactility and dedicated keys to frequently used symbols like a full-stop or a comma.

The 3.5mm earphone jack is located rightly to the top of the phone, while the thin-pin charging port is right next to it. The camera sensor and speaker grille lay at the back, as usual.

Page 1 - Introduction, Design & Build Page 2 - UI, Performance, Price & Verdict