Finnish mobile phone major Nokia has introduced its first Android-based phone family in Bahrain, eyeing a share of the affordable smartphone segment.

The company's Android foray was unveiled to the world at Mobile World Congress last month and according to experts, is suggestive of the fact that the Android platform, which has the largest number of apps in the world, is something Nokia could no longer ignore even though it is now owned by Microsoft.

In the fourth quarter last year, Gartner reported that Android had 77.8 per cent worldwide market share while Apple's iOS share was 17.8 per cent, with the rest being shared by RIM's BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and others.

Nokia's Lumia series of top-end smartphones is based on Microsoft's Windows Mobile platform, "which will not change," Nokia Lower Gulf general manager Vithesh Reddy told the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

The launch event, held at the Diplomat Radisson Blu Hotel Residence and Spa, in partnership with Intercol, the distributor for Nokia in Bahrain, also saw the unveiling of two new phones in the Nokia Asha family.

The X series is priced between the Asha and Lumia devices.

"The Nokia X family brings the best of Nokia signature services such as HERE mapping, as well as Microsoft services such as OneDrive and access to the world of Android apps," stated Reddy.

Nokia Middle East manager for portfolio and product management smart devices Tarek Zaki said the Nokia X comes with a four-inch capacitive display and 3MP camera, the X+ is targeted at multimedia enthusiasts with more memory and storage, whereas the XL features a five-inch display with 2MP front-facing camera and a 5MP rear-facing, autofocus camera with flash.

"All devices feature a tile-based user interface inspired by the Lumia range and are pre-loaded with a variety of third-party apps and games.

"People can also access apps from Nokia Store, more than a dozen third-party app stores and by sideloading," he added.

The entire Nokia X family is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon dual core processor and supports dual SIM.

Priced at BD46 ($120), the Nokia X is available in Bahrain now, while the X+ and XL will be available in the second quarter.

The Nokia Asha 230 is an entry-level full-touch mobile phone, priced at BD23. Nokia 220 is the company's lowest-priced, data-enabled phone, available for BD16.-TradeArabia News Service