AIRTEL INTRODUCES THE NOKIA X AFFORDABLE SMARTPHONE IN AFRICA

NAIROBI, KENYA – 20^th March, 2014 – Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”), a leading telecommunications services provider with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa and Nokia have announced that the new Nokia X smartphone will be available to purchase across 17countries in Africa from mid April 2014.

Designed for consumers in high-growth markets, the affordable Nokia X offers stunning design, a seamless user experience and access to the world of Android™ apps. Out of the box, they can enjoy signature Nokia experiences including free* HERE Maps, with true offline maps and integrated turn-by-turn navigation. The Nokia X family is also an affordable introduction to the most popular Microsoft services, including free cloud storage using OneDrive and Outlook.com.

An affordable introduction to the Nokia X family

The first offering, the flagship Nokia X, is beautifully crafted with Nokia’s signature design approach. The handset boasts a 4” capacitive display and exchangeable back covers that come in a variety of bold colours. Inside, the device runs on the Nokia X Software Platform and is powered by a1Ghz dual core Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ processor. Tile-based icons give the Nokia X’s user interface a fresh look, while by the upgraded Fastlane feature makes switching between favourite apps and content even smoother. 

Commenting on the partnership, Airtel Africa Chief Marketing Officer, Andre Beyers said: “This is yet another first from Airtel and Nokia. As Africa’s largest Internet provider, we are excited that Airtel customers in 17 countries will be amongst the first in the world to enjoy a unique combination of Nokia’s stunning design and user experience integrated with a wide range of services. In addition, Nokia X will come with data bundles for our customers to access their favorite social sites and chat applications.”

“We are delighted to partner with Airtel to offer the Nokia X smartphone” said Timo Toikkanen, executive vice president, Mobile Phones, Nokia. “Consumers can enjoy their favourite apps, the best of signature Nokia experiences and the most popular Microsoft Internet and cloud services, wrapped-up on a smartphone that holds-on the Nokia promise.”