Nokia X and X+ are official: Built on AOSP and running Nokia services

'Nokia X takes people to Microsoft's cloud, not Google's.'

Today at its press conference in Barcelona for MWC 2014, Stephen Elop of Nokia introduced the Nokia X and X+, two new low-end devices running Android. Both phones have a 4-inch display and iconic Nokia design, with the Nokia X+ having better internal specs and an SDcard slot.

The devices are built on AOSP, but do not use any of Google's services. As Elop said at the press conference, "Nokia X takes people to Microsoft's cloud, not Google's." It leverages Nokia's HERE Maps, Outlook.com, Microsoft OneDrive and Skype among other apps to fill in the gaps left by removing Google's cloud services.

Of course because it runs Android, Nokia is making it simple for Android developers to move over their apps to the Nokia store for download on the Nokia X and X+. The process is said to be very simple, according to Elop, and if users want to take things into their own hands the phones will also support sideloading of apps from the internal storage or SDcard.