Nokia, now a subsidiary of Microsoft Mobile Oy has reportedly launched the second generation Nokia X series Android smartphone in India for ₹8,699.

"The enhancements on the Nokia X2 lead to a richer, faster and easier experience designed to introduce the 'next billion' people to the mobile Internet and cloud services," PTI quoted Sari Harju, Nokia India Sales Head (Mobile Phones) as saying.

Nokia X2 is a major upgrade over its predecessor (Nokia X) in terms of looks and internal hardware. It flaunts a big 4.3-inch WVGA (480x800p) ClearBlack LCD screen and ships with 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor backed by 1GB RAM, 4GB inbuilt memory (expandable up to 32GB).

The new phone also houses a 5.0-megapixel primary camera (with Auto-focus and LED flash), a 0.3-megapixel VGA camera and a 1,800 mAh battery, which run the phone for 13 hours of talk time and close to 23 days under standby mode.

One noticeable change in the Nokia X2 is the inclusion of a home button on the screen. Its predecessor just had a back – button, which also functioned as home button.

However, many users were unaware that pressing the back (>) button for some time would bring them back to the home screen. Hence, now the company has incorporated a dedicated home button right on the screen (bottom right).

Nokia X2 too runs on the tweaked Android Open Source Project OS. It features 'Tiles' like interface seen inside the Windows Phone OS-powered devices and instead of Google based Gmail, Play store and Maps services, people will find Nokia's very own 'Here', 'City Lens' maps service, browsers and others.

On related news, Microsoft has reportedly decided to end the development of Nokia X series smartphone. So Nokia X2 might be the company's last phone to run on the tweaked Android OS.

Microsoft, as part of integrating Nokia in to its fold, has decided to abandon its experimentation in making phones powered by the American rival Google Android system, according to Reuters.

Check out the official Nokia X2 video detailing the key features:

Key specifications of Nokia X2:

Model Nokia X2 Display 4.3-inch WVGA (800x480p)ClearBlack LCD screenPixel density: 217 ppi (pixels per inch) OS Android v4.3 Jelly Bean (expected to be a tweaked version) Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 series dual-core CPU with 1.2GHz speed GPU Adreno 305 RAM 1GB Storage capacity 4GB , expandable up to 32GB Camera Main: 5.0-megapixel camera with Auto-focus and LED flash Front: 0.3-megapixel (VGA) camera Battery 1,800 mAh;Talk time: up to 10 hours (2G) & 13 hours (3G) Standby time: up to 23 days Network 3G Add-ons Dual-SIM slots, Bluetooth v4.0, Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n), micro-USB v2.0, comes pre-loaded with Outlook.com, Skype and OneDrive, microSD card slot, Dimensions 121.7 x 68.3 x 11.1 mm Weight 150 Colors Glossy orange, black and green, with glossy yellow, white and matte dark grey coming later to the lineup. Price ₹8,699/-

[Image Credit: Nokia India]