Nokia launches three phones that run Android

Five months after Microsoft acquired Nokia's mobile division, the cellphone maker has just launched a new family of smartphones that run on Android, Google's operating system.

These paradoxical devices, which cost around 100 euros, have been named Nokia X, Nokia X+ and Nokia XL, and they are able to execute Microsoft services while also running Android applications.

The presentation, made at Barcelona's Mobile World Congress (MWC), illustrates the new relationship between Nokia and Microsoft, two giants that have been walking hand in hand since September, rather than lunging for each other's throats.

Although the real news, of course, is the fact that a Microsoft-owned company has launched a product that is compatible with Android. Yet there is a limit to how much Google the new Nokias can, or will, deal with.

“These phones will take people to the Microsoft cloud, not the Google cloud,” warned Stephen Elop, executive vice-president of Nokia, at the first press conference of MWC, which opened on Monday in Barcelona.

The Nokia phones offer a personalized version of Android featuring Microsoft and Nokia services. The interface is very similar to Lumia.

“We are offering Microsoft's services at a tremendously aggressive price. We are offering smartphones featuring the Nokia brand but compatible with Android applications and without the need to go through the Google cloud," said Javier Garcia, product manager for Nokia Iberia. "This is not a betrayal of Microsoft."