The X family is only based on Android and uses a forked version of Android rather than the truest sense of Android most users know. It takes a backdoor Android entry similar to Amazon’s Kindle. To begin with, it doesn’t have Google Play certification and notable absence would be Google Play Store and would bypass Google services for Android experience. In stead, the apps would be curated on Nokia’s own App store which will have an exclusive section for X family. The UI looks very similar to the Windows Phone OS. May be the idea here is to make the entry-level segment get used to the Lumia language whenever they switch to it.
Nokia says it is very easy for developers to port their existing Android apps and only three APIs have been changed, so if a developer isn’t making use of these, no changes are needed at all. It is also possible to download apps from third-party app-stores as well as side load an APK directly from the computer to the device.
As expected, the devices would be baked with many Microsoft services as well as Nokia’s exclusive apps like Mix Radio and Here Maps.
