The Nokia X platform was a

Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, w ...

-based

mobile operating system A mobile operating system is an operating system for mobile phones, tablets, smartwatches, smartglasses, or other non-laptop personal mobile computing devices. While computers such as typical laptops are "mobile", the operating systems used on ...

and

software platform A computing platform or digital platform is an environment in which a piece of software is executed. It may be the hardware or the operating system (OS), even a web browser and associated application programming interfaces, or other underlying ...

originally developed by

Nokia Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, established in 1865. Nokia's main headquarters are in Espoo, Finland, i ...

, and subsequently by

Microsoft Mobile Microsoft Mobile was a subsidiary of Microsoft involved in the development and manufacturing of mobile phones. Based in Espoo, Finland, it was established in 2014 following the acquisition of Nokia's Devices and Services division by Microsoft i ...

. Introduced on 24 February 2014, it was forked from Android and used on all the devices of the

Nokia X family The Nokia X family was a range of budget smartphones that was produced and marketed by Microsoft Mobile, originally introduced in February 2014 by Nokia. The smartphones run on the Nokia X platform, a Linux-based operating system which was a for ...

. It was also the next Nokia Linux project after the ill-fated

MeeGo MeeGo is a discontinued Linux distribution hosted by the Linux Foundation, using source code from the operating systems Moblin (produced by Intel) and Maemo (produced by Nokia). Primarily targeted at mobile devices and information appliances ...

. On 17 July 2014, after the acquisition of Nokia's devices unit, Microsoft announced that no more Nokia X smartphones will be introduced, marking the end of the Nokia X platform within only a few months after its introduction. The phones were succeeded by low-cost Lumia devices under the Microsoft Mobile brand name. Microsoft did not release an Android-based device under their own brand until 2020, in the form of the foldable Surface Duo.

Overview

The Nokia X software platform was based on the

Android Open Source Project Android is a mobile operating system based on a modified version of the Linux kernel and other open-source software, designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Android is developed by a consortium of ...

(AOSP) and the Linux kernel. Nokia combined Android apps with Nokia experiences (such as

HERE Maps HERE WeGo is a web mapping and navigation service, operated by HERE Technologies and originally developed by Nokia. In 2013, HERE Technologies released this web mapping application for Windows Phone and the World Wide Web as a revamped version ...

, Nokia Xpress and

MixRadio MixRadio was an online music streaming service owned by Line Corporation. The service was first introduced by Nokia in 2011 as ''Nokia Music'' for Windows Phone, serving as a successor to Nokia's previous Nokia Music Store/Comes with Music/Ovi ...

) and

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...

services (such as

Skype Skype () is a proprietary telecommunications application operated by Skype Technologies, a division of Microsoft, best known for VoIP-based videotelephony, videoconferencing and voice calls. It also has instant messaging, file transfer, deb ...

and

Outlook Outlook or The Outlook may refer to: Computing * Microsoft Outlook, an e-mail and personal information management software product from Microsoft * Outlook.com, a web mail service from Microsoft * Outlook on the web, a suite of web applications ...

). Nokia officially described the software as bringing "the best of all worlds". It also encompasses features from the Asha platform, such as the Fastlane notification centre. The user interface mimics that of

Windows Phone Windows Phone (WP) is a discontinued family of mobile operating systems developed by Microsoft for smartphones as the replacement successor to Windows Mobile and Zune. Windows Phone featured a new user interface derived from the Metro design l ...

. The OS has been compared to

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econo ...

Fire OS Fire OS is a mobile operating system based on the Android Open Source Project, it is developed by Amazon for their devices. Fire OS includes proprietary software, a customized user interface primarily centered on content consumption, and heavy ...

, which is also based on AOSP.

Applications

Google Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...

's applications were replaced by Nokia's and Microsoft's. When first released, the

Google Play Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android operating sy ...

store was not included, with Nokia offering apps from their own Nokia Store. After the v2.1 update in September 2014 users were allowed to install Google Play and various other Google services through third party tools, but if users attempt to install Google services on their Nokia X devices it would usually be "bricked" and would require the

Nokia Software Recovery Tool Microsoft Software Updater (earlier Nokia Software Updater and Ovi Suite Software Updater) is a Windows and OS X (though the Mac version is only in Beta) based application launched in 2006, that enables customers to update and recover their mob ...

to restore the data. As of February 2014, 75% of Android apps were compatible with the platform. Nokia noted that developers could port the remaining missing apps in a matter of hours, and in an attempt to encourage developers to contribute to the platform, added compatible Android apps without developer approval.

Developers

An SDK was available for the platform, and included an emulator based on the Android emulator. Nokia discouraged developers from using Windows Phone design patterns and encouraged the use of Android design guidelines on the Nokia X. Nokia's VP of developer relations commented that the Nokia imaging SDK would likely be ported to the platform from

Version history

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=May 2018 Nokia platforms Mobile software Mobile operating systems Android forks

Overview

Applications

Developers

Version history

See also

References