Nokia X Can't Access Google Play?

[Dragonzeanse]

So correct me if I'm wrong, but supposedly, this is that Nokia Android phone that people have been hoping for - or at least, some form of "Android on a Nokia phone," so to speak. I was Googling "Google Play" to listen to my music, and I saw an article on how to root the Nokia X to access Google Play. I was intrigued, because up to that point, I had thought all recent Nokia phones only used Windows Phone (I haven't kept track of Nokia's dealings lately outside of the Microsoft's attempted acquisition). I looked it up and apparently, the Nokia X line of phones are mid-range products that run a modified version of Android. Finally, I thought, a Nokia phone that could access the Android ecosystem...

 

... Hey, wait a minute... It can't access Google Play without rooting it?

 

Like the Kindle Fire, the Nokia X is based on Android Open Source Project, and it shows: both are heavily-modified versions of Android, and the Kindle Fire cannot access Google Play - at least, not natively. But Amazon at least has something of a respectable ecosystem that you could reasonably expect to grow, considering the company behind it. But what about Nokia, and Android? What exactly does Nokia have going for it outside of selling some nice smartphones?

 

Could someone please explain to me what the hell gives? What's the point of Nokia selling an Android phone that can't even utilize the robust Google Play store? As a person who owns a smartphone simply for the improved functionality over, say, a cheapo feature phone, I can only imagine the multitudes of angles this can be approached from. However, I am seriously wondering how the hell this got the green light. It doesn't even have to be Nokia's or Google's fault for not having access to the Android ecosystem. This isn't a blame game, this is me trying to figure out why the hell Nokia thinks anyone would care to buy a gimped Android smartphone like this. The Kindle Fire? Sure, it's a decent tablet range for those who just want to consume media. But what is Nokia hoping will draw me to these phones over, say, a Nexus 5, or a Moto X, or another budget-minded smartphone with just as much functionality, but with a far greater laundry list of features?

 

As someone who is not an Android or smartphone enthusiast, I am confused. What is the point?

[Lingering]

I know less techy people who really like the Fire, personally I can't stand it. I have had nokia phones alot of my life and would love a good android one but it would have to have google play access as standard.

[Probenja]

It is an improvement over the old Asha OS (feature phones) because app developers were not giving support to Asha OS/Symbian so they said hey android is popular, lets port it to our phones, so now you have this X series that sits between lumia's and asha's and gives you the latest apps but in a controlled ecosystem that will not make microsoft angry.

 

But of course because it is android underneath you can side load any app and in most cases it should work and now developers are rooting these phones and as you said even giving them google play support even though they don't support it like the amazon kindle's.

 

Anyways they are low end phones for emerging markets, so Android enthusiast should not buy it.

 

Oh and your pov is very us-centric, the moto x and nexus 5 are NOT cheap phones, the nokia x series is not the cheapest but at least you are getting something better than asha but cheaper than lumia while having a pretty good selection of apps and games. In that point however it is not far off the price of the moto g that gets you full android and better specs for not that much more money.