Nokia X likely to sell under launch price of Rs 8,599

The recently launched Nokia X is the Finnish handset giant's effort to regain its lost market share in the affordable segment smartphone.

Priced more than its Asha range but less than the Lumia series, the best buy of the Nokia X was announced as Rs 8,599. But starting this Friday, dealers are likely to sell it at prices anywhere between Rs 7,990 to Rs 8,599.

According to an industry source, Nokia had initially listed the dealer price of the Nokia X at Rs 8,499 and the market operating price (the selling price) at Rs 8,599. As the margins were low for the dealers, Nokia started billing the Nokia X to the dealers for Rs 7,849.

This gives dealers a slightly bigger window to modify the market operating price for the benefit of the consumers. The Nokia X is already listed for Rs 8,391 along with an Aircel 3GB 3G or 2G data code on Snapdeal.com.

Says a Delhi-based dealer who did not want to be identified: "We have just received three units initially that we sold for Rs 8,599. It has been communicated that starting Friday, stock will be available in large quantities. Once we receive enough stock, we will beat the price listed on the online portals."

Consumers are in for a treat as the market operating price is likely to come down to Rs 7,990. This gives them a valid reason to bargain while shopping for the phone.

The Nokia X runs on Android Open Source Project and can run Android apps, minus Android User interface and Google Services. The user interface is similar to the one on Asha smartphones with the option to resize the icons as found on Windows Phones.

Nokia has also replaced the basic Google Services with Microsoft ones as one gets access to Outlook, Here Maps, Skype, etc. For downloading Android apps, Nokia has curated its own app store.

Users can also download apps from third party app stores by changing the settings on the phone.