Nokia is undercutting the Australian phone market with three Android phones costing less than $400. Two of three smartphone models have an 8-core processor.
Riding a wave of Nokia nostalgia around the globe, Nokia wants to make us sit up, take notice and see their new phones as offering extraordinary value for money.
The three phones launched in Sydney today are so cheap that you can buy them all and overall pay less than for a single high-end Samsung or iPhone handset.
In Australia, you’ll pay $249 for Nokia 3, $329 for Nokia 5 and $399 for Nokia 6. Those are low prices in Australia for what you get. Nokia 6 for example has an 8-core processor, 32GB of storage expandable with a microSD card, 16 and 8 megapixel cameras, and a 5.5-inch display.
The phones were launched by Arto Nummela, the boss of HMD global, the start-up comprising hundreds of former Nokia staff which bought Nokia’s feature phone business back from Microsoft. HMD Global began operating in December last year.
“I’m a Finnish person. This is even deeper in my genes. I loved the brand the minute I started working with it, Nummela told The Australian yesterday.
The Nokia 3, Nokia 5, and Nokia 6 are all 4G LTE phones, and run Android Nougat 7. Two have Android 7.1.1. It’s Vanilla Android, which in tech-speak means unaltered from Google’s original Android.
Nokia is promising monthly updates to the operating system, so that users always have the latest features and security patches.
Nokia 6
Made with aluminium and diamond cut edges, Nokia 6 has a large 5.5-inch 1080p display, which is the same size as the iPhone 7 Plus display. The 16 MP rear camera has phase detection, auto focus and there is an 8MP selfie camera on the front.
There’s 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage with a microSD card slot that supports up to 128 GB more storage.
The phone has a microUSB connector rather than the newer USB Type-C, but that will please many users who by now have a drawer full of microUSB cables.
There’s a 3.5-inch audio jack for listening to music. There’s Dolby Atmos support.
My question is whether the Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 chip set running this device will be powerful enough. We won’t know until we test it.
A big 3000 mAh battery suggests that battery life will be good particularly as it needs to support only a 1080p display, rather than a 4K one.
The specs for each of the three models are below.
Nummela told me yesterday that feature phones under the Nokia name were a half a billion dollar business and there was no sign of decline.
Their affordability meant that sales were going gangbusters especially in China among young people who hadn’t necessarily encountered the Nokia brand before.
That’s great news for Nokia and bad news for Microsoft which sold off the Nokia feature phone business for $US350m after having acquired it two years beforehand for $US7.9bn. Did Microsoft sell off a feature phone cash cow?
These three handsets below are of course smartphones. They will be available from late next month. Here are the specs:
Nokia 3 ($249)
• Network speed: LTE Cat. 4, 150Mbps DL/50Mbps UL
• OS: Android 7.0 Nougat
• CPU: MTK 6737, Quad-core 1.3Ghz
• RAM: 2 GB LPPDDR 3
• Storage: 16 GB internal user memory with MicroSD card slot (up to 128 GB support)
• Display: 5.0 inches IPS LCD HD (1280 x 720, 16:9), Gorilla Glass, Polariser, 450 nits
• Camera: 8MP AF, 1.12um, f/2, flash; Front facing camera: 8MP AF, 1.12um, f/2, FOV 84 degrees
• Connectivity & sensors: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, BT 4.2, GPS/AGPS, FM/RDS, NFC (sharing), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor, Accelerometer (G-sensor), Ecompass, Gyroscope, Hall sensor, Micro USB (USB 2.0), OTG, 3.5mm
• Battery: Integrated 2630 mAh battery
• Audio: Single speaker
• Dimensions: 143.4 x 71.4 x 8.48mm (8.68mm with camera bump)
Nokia 5 ($329)
• Network speed: LTE Cat. 4, 150Mbps DL/50Mbps UL
• OS: Android 7.1.1 Nougat
• Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 mobile platform
• RAM: 2 GB LPPDDR 3
• Storage: 16 GB internal user memory with MicroSD card slot (up to 128 GB support)
• Display: 5.2 inches IPS LCD HD (1280 x 720, 16:9), Gorilla Glass, laminated, sunlight readability, polariser 500 nits
• Camera: 13MP PDAF, 1.12um, f/2, dual tone flash; Front facing camera: 8MP AF, 1.12um, f/2, FOV 84 degrees
• Connectivity & sensors: Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor, Accelerometer (G-sensor), E-compass, Gyroscope, Hall sensor, Fingerprint Sensor, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, BT 4.1, GPS/AGPS+GLONASS+BDS, FM/RDS, NFC (sharing), ANT+, Micro USB (USB 2.0), OTG, 3.5mm
• Battery: Integrated 3000 mAh battery
• Audio: Single Speaker with Smart Amplifier (TFA9891)
• Dimensions: 149.7 x 72.5 x 8.05mm (8.55mm with camera bump)
Nokia 6 ($399)
• Network speed: LTE Cat. 4, 150Mbps DL/50Mbps UL
• OS: Android 7.1.1 Nougat
• Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 mobile platform
• RAM: 3 GB LPPDDR 3
• Storage: 32 GB internal user memory with MicroSD card slot3 up to 128 GB support
• Display: 5.5” IPS LCD full HD (1920 x 1080, 16:9), Gorilla Glass, 403 ppi pixel density, sunlight readability, 450 nits, laminated
• Camera: Primary camera: 16MP PDAF, 1.0um, f/2, dual tone flash; Front facing camera: 8MP AF, 1.12um, f/2, FOV 84 degrees
• Connectivity & Sensors: Micro USB (USB 2.0), OTG, 3.5mm, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor, Accelerometer, Ecompass, Gyroscope, Hall sensor, Fingerprint Sensor, NFC
(sharing), Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, BT 4.1, GPS/AGPS +GLONASS+BDS, FM/RDS, ANT+, FM/RDS
• Battery: Integrated 3000 mAh battery
• Audio: Dual Speakers with Smart Amplifier (TFA9891) with Dolby Atmos
• Dimensions: 154 x 75.8 x 7.85mm (8.4mm with camera bump)
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