Nokia X Android smartphone security features detailed

There's no doubt that having security features in a smartphone come in handy, and can save your personal and work-related data. It is always a wise precaution to enable the security features in your smartphone, rather than risk losing all the data stored on the device.

Nokia X, which is built using the Android Open Source Project, and is not certified by Google, which clearly means that there's no Google Play store, and that no apps based on Google's APIs will work. While there's no access to Google's Play Store, users can side-load Android apps from any third-party source.

However, as per the Nokia Conversations blog, the Nokia X comes with the required security features to protect the data stored on the device without downloading third-party security apps.

The three main ways to protect the data on the Nokia X smartphone is the screen security, encryption, and SIM card lock. The screen security feature on the Nokia X has two options, namely - password and PIN. The Nokia X users can select a combination of numbers and letters, or even both, for locking the screen with a password, while for the PIN option, users will have to choose a numerical code consisting of four digits.

Another way to protect the data is through encryption, which encodes the stored messages, accounts, images, videos and data in such a way that they can be only accessed by authorized parties. Notably, after the encryption process on the Nokia X, the only way to decrypt the data is via factory data reset. Nokia's official blog post notes that the encryption process on the Nokia X takes around an hour.

One of the simplest ways, and a feature that is found on most Nokia phones, is SIM card lock. Nokia X users can go to security settings and choose the SIM card lock option, which will prevent access of stored contacts on the SIM card, once the feature is turned on.

Nokia introduced its Nokia X family, an Android-based smartphone line-up running a highly customised version of the OS, at MWC 2014 amidst much fanfare.

The move surprised a lot of people in the tech industry, given the impending acquisition of Nokia's mobile phone business by Microsoft. An earlier report suggested that Nokia's new X family is an attempt to stay relevant in developing markets, where affordable Android smartphones are being bought by hundreds of millions of consumers.

The Finnish giant right after introducing its Nokia X series began rolling out the Nokia X Services SDK to developers, as it had promised at the event.

The company has already revealed plans to roll-out more Nokia X smartphones soon and, is said to be aiming for lower price points.

Earlier this month the Nokia X was announced for the Indian market. The Android smartphone from Nokia has been priced at Rs. 8,599. The Nokia X+, and Nokia XL have been announced for India as well, and will be launched within the next two months.

Nokia X Android phone in pictures