NOKIA XL: Bigger and Bolder (Full Review)

Introduction:

The Nokia XL is the youngest and also the biggest member of the Nokia X Family from the Finns that was announced last February, in case you missed it the X family of Nokia is runs on android but it is heavily customized to fit with the Nokia ecosystem and not with Google though it is based on Android Open Source Project or AOSP that is on android version 4.1 (Jellybean) it won’t be able to run any Google application such as Gmail, YouTube, GMaps, Google Plus, etc. Instead Nokia is offering you their own Nokia Store that features Android Apps for free or you can choose to have a third party app store like Apptoide, 1 Mobile Market, etc.

So if you’re relying too much on Google then this phone is not for you. Going back to the Nokia XL, I will be discussing the Packaging, Screen Size and other features and the hit and miss of the device on the next line.

Packaging:

The Nokia XL comes with a new design on the box from the usual blue Nokia box it is now colored white, they say it is what Microsoft wanted to look like since they are the once that owns the Hardware and Mobile division of Nokia. The box contains User Guide, Nokia Care Card, Headset, Charger, Battery, and the Unit itself. I was kind of disappointed that it didn’t have at least a USB Cable for data transfer purpose or the 4GB Memory card that Elop said when he was introducing the product at the MWC, but anyway it has a better package content than the Nokia Lumia 630 that doesn’t have a Headset just a charger and the unit itself. 

Any way the Nokia XL is priced at Php 8990 or if you’re lucky to find a store that offers it with a bit lower price. I got mine for Php 8750. The next paragraphs will be about the phones specifications so please continue reading. 

Screen Size and Body:

The XL features a huge 5 inches WVGA LCD Display that is Multitouch capable up to 6 fingers. I think this is the biggest phone that I ever have, well I have a Samsung Galaxy S4 that is 4.99 inches and a Nokia Lumia 920 with 4.5 inches of screen size but the XL dwarfed them literally the two phones looked smaller beside the phone. Maybe the bigger bezels of the XL made it more bigger and because it is bigger it is a bit heavy though I think the Lumia 920 is heavier, the bigger size and heavy weight of the XL gives it a very strong built as it looks very sturdy, well it’s Nokia so better expect very sturdy design.

Though the body looked so strong the glass used on the screen is just ordinary, it doesn’t feature anything fancy, no Gorilla Glass nor any kinds of protection from scratch so you better have it screened protect or don’t remove the temporary screen protection that Nokia placed on it.

 Like all the new Nokia Smartphone that was released the Nokia XL is made up of Poly carbonate Plastic that offers a good quality of back case, the available colors of XL here in the Philippines is Orange and Bright Green. The Phone doesn’t look cheap thanks to the bright colored poly carbonate back panels unlike other Smartphone that despite the price range of the phone it still feel cheap because of the plastic that they used on their phones.

Specifications:

Nokia did a little improvement on this X family member the only thing that keeps the XL different from the X aside from the screen is the RAM Size and the Battery, instead of having a lower 512MB of RAM it now features a 768MB of RAM that is also featured on the X+. aside from that almost all are the same with the three Nokia X members.

It runs on an older 1 Ghz Dual core Processor with Qualcomm Snapdragon Chipset. Though it's running on older chipset the Nokia XL still performs smoothly, but when I first powered the phone on it is a bit laggy and unresponsive but after a few seconds everything runs smooth with some lags that is still bearable.

I have been using the phone for more than a week now and I could say that the 2000mAh of battery performs very well, the battery lasts for 14 hours on regular cell phone use and 7 hours on heavy internet use.

Fastlane and User Interface:

As we know the Nokia X Family runs on heavy forked android 4.1.The design of the user interface looks the same as the Nokia Lumia Family it features tiles but unlike the Windows Phone counterpart it doesn’t feature any live tiles, but it lets you resize, move and change the color of the tile whether you like it green, blue, dark blue, violet, or orange, but it has a bigger screen three tiles can only fit in one row.

And because it is not your common android device, the XL only features 2 screen the Home screen where all the apps downloaded appears and the Fastlane where all of your recent applications are placed, it’s like a bookmark plus it serves as the place where you can close the apps you used by simply long pressing a certain content on the Fastlane and then press either the X on the right side or press the garbage can icon at the bottom of the screen

One unique feature of the Nokia X Family is the < capacitive touch button that serves as back button for you to exit an app. It doesn’t have any other purpose. The Nokia X platform also has the swipe to left or right for you to exit an app, only few apps supports it specially those apps that were pre installed on the device like Messaging and Web browsing.

Though the XL is not your typical android phone, it also features widgets for BBM, Text Messaging, Twitter, Facebook, and even an Analogue Clock, but don’t put too much widgets as it will put too much load on the processor and your phone might get laggy. 

Web Browsing and Keyboard:

The Web Browser on the Nokia XL is very fast in loading web pages, the only problem I encountered yet is that whenever I try to reload a page it doesn’t show anything it will just surprise you when it is already opening the page your trying to browse.

The keyboard works perfectly with the huge screen of the XL plus it features a swipe to input function that makes it easier for you to type. One good thing on the keyboard is the dictionary it shows words that you need in forming a sentence in making a text message, tweet, or status in Facebook.

Camera:

A higher resolution 5 megapixel shooter is equipped with the Nokia XL with single LED Flash unlike its older but smaller siblings that only packs a 3.15 camera.

The Camera takes good to decent photos depending on where the photo is being taken and as compared to other 5 megapixel camera of other brands it gives much better quality.

The downside of the camera is the flash as instead of making the picture brighter and more vibrant the photo tends to be darker. Here are some camera samples of the Nokia XL.  

Gaming:

The Nokia XL comes pre installed with several games like Plants vs Zombies 2, Tetris, Green Farm 3, Bejeweled 2, Danger Dash, and Wonder Zoo all of them works perfectly with the Nokia XL. No Lags or Hanging that occur while I was playing the pre installed games on the phone.

I also installed Candy Crush, Temple Run 2, Clash Of Clans, 2048, and Dumb Ways to Die and so far I haven’t experienced any lags or forced close issue, it worked fine and smoothly.

I just had an issue when I tried to install the Candy Crush from a 3^rd party ap since it is not available in the Nokia Store, when I opened the app it just show an orange screen and then it forced closed so what I did was I uninstalled the app and download a new one from a different store and it worked properly.  

Application Store:

The pre installed Nokia store in the Nokia XL doesn’t have it all but it offers different third party app store on it, I recommend Apptoide and 1 Mobile Market but I suggest you use only 1 third party app store since you’re Fastlane will be flooded by Updates of Application asking you to update it.

Verdict:   

The Nokia XL is not a must have phone as it is working on a baby platform from an old operating system, Nokia haven’t perfected the formula in making an excellent phone that is android based. It's not the best that Nokia can offer so far but it is still a good one though. 

At the price of Php 8990 you can already buy a Midrange android phone or a higher spec one from your local android phone maker and also if you are dependent on Google Apps this phone is not for you, but if you’re an android user or a new Smartphone user looking for a differently and newly styled phone this is worth to try. Or if you want to try the Nokia X and you are not contented with the Specs of the X, X+ and XL you can wait for the “rumored” 

Nokia X2 that is a 2^nd generation Nokia X device that has a better specs than the 1^st one, it is said to feature a 4.3 inch screen with 1GB of RAM and a newer processor.

That’s it thank you for reading, if you want to ask something regarding with this review, gadgets, sports, etc. you can email me at orionz2@ymail.com. Or tweet me @bigbeezbuzz again thank you J