Nokia X2 review: Fun times two

Introduction

When you’re shopping on a budget, getting the most bang for your buck is what counts. And the Nokia X2 is keen to give you an exchange rate that’s hard to beat. This no-nonsense bar delivers a 5MP camera with flash, great audio with stereo speakers, dedicated music keys and a built-in antenna for the FM receiver.

Nokia X2 official photos

Features like that can run up quite a bill at checkout – but not with the Nokia X2. Its price hovers around the 100 euro mark – a bargain for that feature set.

Not that there weren’t compromises made – here’s the rundown of what made the cut and what was scrapped.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
• 2.2" 262K-color QVGA display
• 5 megapixel enhanced fixed-focus camera with LED flash
• QVGA video recording at 15fps
• Series 40 UI, 6th edition
• Dedicated Facebook app
• Bluetooth (with A2DP)
• Standard microUSB port (charging); USB On-The-Go
• Hot-swappable microSD card slot (16 GB supported)
• Stereo FM radio with RDS; built-in antenna
• 3.5mm audio jack
• Dedicated music keys
• Stereo speakers
• Excellent loudspeaker performance
• Great audio quality
• Aluminum back cover

Main disadvantages

• No 3G
• No GPS receiver
• No WLAN
• S40 is outdated and lacks multitasking
• No document viewer
• No smart dialing
• Below par still and video camera
• Wobbly microUSB port

The Nokia X2 is a lower midrange S40 phone and it shows when you look at the disadvantages. But most of those are under the hood and you likely won’t notice them right away. The back cover is made of aluminum and has a brushed metal finish that looks great.

The stereo speakers are loud and you don’t need the headphones to blast out that new song on the radio. And if that feels too retro, the microSD card slot is easily accessible. The Nokia X2 is true Xseries stuff and makes no excuses when it comes to music.

The Nokia X2 paying us a visit

The Nokia X2 doesn’t overlook the biggest thing on the Internet since Google either. The dedicated Facebook app is pretty good (by non-touch phones’ standards).

And the 5MP camera with LED flash came as a bit of a surprise – that kind of camera usually goes on a mid-to-high end phones. Not all 5MP cameras are born equal though as we’ll see later on.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves – we need to open the box first. Jump to the next page to see what’s in and how the Nokia X2 feels on the outside.