The Nokia X Platform 2.0 won't be offered to first generation Nokia X devices

The new Nokia X2 brings a new version 2.0 of the Nokia X platform, which is a customized version of the Android API 18 (Android 4.3 Jelly Bean). It turns out that the software giant has no plans to release this newer version its its first generation Nokia X devices, which include the Nokia X, Nokia X+ and the Nokia XL.

The first generation of Nokia X devices were released merely months ago, with the Nokia X+ and the Nokia XL arriving in certain markets only last month. This is similar to what Microsoft did with Windows Phone 7.x, prematurely retiring the platform in favor of Windows Phone 8 after vigorously marketing the older version and pushing customers and developers to adopt a platform without a future.

This is starting to become a habit with Microsoft and the company will only lose more customers if it continues this unattractive trend. We won't be surprised if the third generation of Nokia X devices include a physical search button, thus making the second generation obsolete too.

The news regarding the update (or lack of) came from Yannis Paniaras, Head of Microsoft's Mobile Phone UX Design Studio in Beijing:

"Because of the necessary hardware upgrades, the Nokia X software platform 2.0 won't be available on Nokia X, Nokia X+ or Nokia XL. However, more updates will be coming to further improve the experience of those devices in the coming months."

The Nokia X2 comes with 1GB of RAM, compared to the 512MB and 768MB found on its predecessor. It also comes with an improved processor (Cortex-A7 vs Cortex A5) and a physical home button.

The first version of the Nokia X platform was based on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, so we can expect the newer release to bring several underlying enhancements. However Microsoft has also included several new features in the Nokia X Platform 2.0 user interface. 

First, there are four tiles per line of the homescreen (up from three) and you can move tiles around and resize them. The homescreen grew an additional pane - the tiles and Fastlane panes are joined by an app list, just like the one WP has. And as you've probably already noticed, the lonely Back button now has a Home button friend, "for simpler navigation". Additional changes include improvements to the camera UI, Fastlane and the virtual keyboard.

While we can accept Microsoft not upgrading the underlying Android version, we hope some of these software features are ported over to older handsets.

source - Nokia | GSMArena

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