Nokia has partnered with Airtel to make its new Nokia X, an affordable and stunningly designed open source Android phone for the emerging markets, available to Airtel Africa subscribers in 17 countries in Africa and also help them enjoy affordable data bundles.
According to Airtel Africa Chief Marketing Officer, Andre Beyers, “This is yet another first from Airtel and Nokia. As Africa’s largest Internet provider, we are excited that Airtel customers in 17 countries will be amongst the first in the world to enjoy a unique combination of Nokia’s stunning design and user experience integrated with a wide range of services. In addition, Nokia X will come with data bundles for our customers to access their favorite social sites and chat applications.”
The new Nokia X is an affordable smartphone running some Android apps plus signature Nokia experiences such as HERE Maps, OneDrive and Outlook.com.
The phone has a 4” capacitive display and exchangeable back covers that come in a variety of bold colours. Inside, the device runs on the Nokia X Software Platform and is powered by a1Ghz dual core Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ processor. Just like Nokia’s LUMIA, the X has tile-based icons that give it ’s user interface a fresh look. It also has an upgraded Fastlane feature to make switching between favourite apps and content even smoother.
“We are delighted to partner with Airtel to offer the Nokia X smartphone” said Timo Toikkanen, executive vice president, Mobile Phones, Nokia. “Consumers can enjoy their favourite apps, the best of signature Nokia experiences and the most popular Microsoft Internet and cloud services, wrapped-up on a smartphone that holds-on the Nokia promise.”
Airtel’s competitor in Kenya, Safaricom on the other entered into an exclusive partnership to distribute the Infinix, a new entrant in the Kenyan market.