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Nokia seems to understand the needs of the African market better than any other phone manufacturer and the release of the new Nokia XL dual SIM model endorses that belief. Over the years, Nokia has knocked-out its users especially those in the Africa market with robust and efficient handsets. But the wide and slick design of its new XL dual SIM model is set to wow its entrenched consumers and even more importantly win-over many more others. Launched in February this year, the Nokia XL is the newest of the X series, which is now selling on the Ghanaian market as a budget friendly smartphone that is supposed to have all the features that the market asks from a mid-range phone that costs up to GHC700. The phone comes with a wide 5 inch display touch screen that makes it perfect for making video calls or for browsing purposes. This makes it by far the biggest screen phone in the X family, most of whom are an inch smaller. The android powered phone, which runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8225 dual core chipset feels and looks like a windows phone. The decision by the manufacturers to use a heavily-customized build of Android 4.1.2 with every shred of Google services stripped out means that the XL does not come with any of the Google products including Gmail, Google Maps, Google Drive, Google Chrome, Google+, YouTube and most importantly the Google Play Store, Google Play Services and the Google Location Platform. As a result, users will have to rely on the Nokia Store, which falls short of Google�s array of app choices. Fortunately, though, one can download a third-party app store like 1MobileMarket to install some of your favorite apps that are nonexistent in the Nokia Store. Nonetheless, any app that needs Play Services or Google�s Location Platform will not install or work properly out of the box on the Nokia XL. The handset is kind of part Windows phone and part android, which is somehow confusing. Otherwise, using the Nokia XL makes an interesting and exciting activity. Since camera phones have turned many people into photographers, the imaging experience on the XL comes in handy with its 2-megapixel front-facing camera for video-chat and a 5-megapixel rear camera offering very standard modes such as photo, video, and panorama, as well as autofocus, ISO, contrast, and other simple configurations. The pixel density of the Nokia XL stands at 187 pixels-per-inch at 800x480 pixels. Nokia could have pushed more for a better display, but this one is okay. Besides having the highest-resolution shooter of the X family, the XL is the only handset with an LED flash. But the phone is relatively heavier than many other inexpensive phones available in the market. It weighs about 190g with square-off edges. Furthermore, the finish of the handset can be compared to high-end smartphones and there are no rough edges. The XL is not quite as luxurious as the company�s most high-end Lumia devices, but its construction feels well-built and solid in the hand. It is durable and can withstand shock and vibration, especially when it drops suddenly from a height. In fact, the back shell is so tightly fitted to the internal chassis of the device, which makes it extremely difficult to get it off at first in order to insert a SIM card and the 2000mAh removable battery, which can last almost a full day a single charge. The XL phone has a 4GB internal storage, which can be expanded by using up to a 32GB microSD card. It is also equipped with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, USB charging and micro-USB support. Some may see the dual SIM mode as a miscellaneous. But come on, in Africa where people prefer to spend on handsets that can access multiple network provider services, the XL definitely is a good choice and makes it the most impressive phone by far in the X family. Touched by Nokia�s superior build quality, the XL best-fit the African terrain and makes it the choicest handset among mobile phone users.