Nokia has revealed its first Android smartphone, the Nokia X, as the former mobile leader looks to expand its market share beyond Microsoft’s Windows platform.
Launched at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday, the new handset comes after the sale of Nokia’s struggling mobile business to Microsoft in September.
The device will have an interface that looks more like Windows than Android, and features many Microsoft and Nokia services, as well as those made by Google.
The entry-level X model will feature a 4in (10.2cm) screen with 512MB Ram and a three-megapixel camera. The X+ will have 768MB Ram and a 4GB MicroSD card.
The top-end XL will have a 5in screen, a front-facing two-megapixel camera and a rear five-megapixel camera.
The X will go on sale immediately in several territories including Europe and Asia Pacific. The X+ and XL will launch in April.
Users who buy one of the X models will be able to use Microsoft’s free cloud-storage system, OneDrive. The software giant’s email software, Outlook, will also ship as standard on all models.
The messaging service BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) will be pre-installed on the phones as will social network Twitter, video app Vine and the game Plants vs. Zombies 2.
More than 1.1 million devices running Android are expected to ship this year compared with 360,000 using the Windows operating system, according to data from research analysts Gartner.
Microsoft agreed to buy Nokia’s mobile phone business in a deal worth 5.4bn euros ($7.2bn; £4.6bn).
Nokia was once a leader in mobile phones but has struggled in recent years.
The growth area for mobile phone companies is now in emerging markets, where low-cost Android models sell particularly well.
The deal between Microsoft and Nokia has not yet been finalised, and at a Microsoft press conference on Sunday the vice-president of operating systems for Windows, Joe Belfiore, was asked what he thought about Nokia’s decision to launch an Android phone.
He replied: “Some things we’re excited about, some things we’re less excited about. Whatever they do, we’re very supportive of them.”
