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Microsoft’s Android-powered Nokia X hits 1 million preorders in China

“Nokia X gives people a gateway to Microsoft.” That’s how Stephen Elop described the Android-powered Nokia X phone last month when it debuted at Mobile World Congress after months of leaked details and hints.

Today, Nokia announced on its Weibo account that the company has passed 1 million Nokia X phones sold in China in just four days during the preorder period ahead of the March 25th launch. So what exactly are 1 million people in China committing their money toward?

While the Nokia X is based on Android, it is covered in a Windows Phone-like skin and relies on Microsoft with OneDrive, Skype, and Outlook for stock apps and services. And Nokia/Microsoft took the approach of Amazon with its Kindle Fire tablets in forking Android in a way that makes the Google Play Store incompatible and requires developers to slightly modify their apps for compatibility.

While the market may be different than in the US, I personally find Nokia’s hardware on its Lumia phones to be highly attractive with the Windows Phone operating system being the road block ahead of widespread adoption.

With the initial preorder success of the Nokia X in China ahead of its launch, is it possible that the Nokia X could ultimately be Microsoft’s gateway to Android rather than customers’ gateway to Microsoft?

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