Nokia X range won’t be available in the US, Canada, Korea, or Japan

The other day at MWC Nokia announced its new trio of budget Android handsets, with prices at just €89 for the Nokia X, €99 for the Nokia X+, and €109 for the Nokia XL. Even at the time of the announcement, Nokia stressed that the series would be hitting emerging markets first, and now we can confirm exactly which countries Nokia meant.

Nokia has plans for the X series to be a global product, however, according to Nokia’s Vice President Jussi Nevanlinna, it will be officially available pretty much everywhere except in the US, Canada, Korea, and Japan. This makes sense, as these markets tend to be more interested in mid-tier and premium smartphone products. At the same time, particular focus will be paid to the big emerging growth markets, including India, China, Thailand and Indonesia, followed by African markets in Egypt, Kenya and Nigeria, and finally South America, especially countries like Brazil, and Mexico.

These are regions which are currently transitioning away from older generation feature phones into affordable smartphones with superior internet connectivity and social media experiences. We must remember that these markets are the few remaining areas where Nokia still holds a decent percentage of the market share. Whilst some may see the Nokia X as well behind the hardware curve, there are plenty of customers around the world itching to hop on the smartphone band wagon, many of whom who still love the old Nokia feature phone brand.

Our Nokia X family customers are young, social, very aspirational and are fans of Nokia. They love our brand and our product design. And they also love Android apps: the quantity and choice is very appealing to them.

It is clear then, that Nokia’s Lumia brand will remain the company’s top tier smartphone experience, whilst the Nokia X sits unashamedly in the affordable section of the market. Even if you’re in living in North America and would like to try out Nokia’s Android handsets for yourself, there is still the possibility that the Nokia X range could make an appearance via a third party retailer.