Nokia 8, 7, 6, 5, 3, 2, 1 – go

Nokia blasted off at Mobile World Congress launching not one, but five new phones. Perhaps Nokia has tetraphobia – avoiding a number four series because it is considered unlucky in China.

Frivolity aside the announcement is pretty impressive for a company barely a year old that now has nine smartphones and eighteen variants of feature phones.

GadgetGuy recently reviewed the Nokia 8 with Android Oreo and said, “HMD needs to do a little more R&D as the Nokia 8 is very good in parts but is let down in some areas as a flagship.”

The new Nokia 8 Sirocco has addressed many of our suggestions and is now ready to give other flagships a run for the money.

Brief specifications include:

  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, 6GB/128GB UFS2.1/microSD to 256GB
  • 5” QHD, 2560 x 1440, 16:9, P-OLED Gorilla Glass 5, small top and bottom bezel only
  • Dual rear cameras: 12MP, 1.4um, f/1.7 and 13MP telephoto, 1.0um, f/2.6 – with 2x Optical Zoom, dual pixel phase detection autofocus and Pro mode camera app
  • Three mics with 24-bit and ability to record up to 132dB
  • Wi-Fi AC MU-MIMO and Bluetooth 5.0
  • 3260mAh battery, Fast (50% in 30m) and Qi wireless charge
  • LTE 600/150Mb/s
  • Pure Android Oreo 8 and Google Assistant
  • A$1,199 in May

What’s missing: 3.5mm audio jack, stereo speaker, still 16:9 screen, IP rating not disclosed

GadgetGuy’s take: The upgraded camera looks excellent

The new Nokia 7 Plus is what Nokia calls a hero phone for everyone. It has gone to 18:9 format screen and retains the Sirocco dual camera setup.

  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 660, 4GB/64 eMMC/microSD to 256GB
  • 6” QHD, 2160 x 1080, 18:9, IPS LCD, Gorilla Glass 3, small top and bottom bezel only
  • Dual rear cameras: 12MP, 1.4um, f/1.7 and 13MP telephoto, 1.0um, f/2.6 – with 2x Optical Zoom, dual pixel phase detection autofocus and Pro mode camera app
  • Selfie: 16MP 1.4um
  • Three mics with 24-bit and ability to record up to 132dB
  • Wi-Fi AC MU-MIMO and Bluetooth 5.0
  • 3800mAh battery
  • LTE 300/50Mb/s
  • Pure Android Oreo 8 and Google Assistant
  • A$749 in May

What’s missing: Qi charge (not usual on mid-range), 3.5” audio jack, no stereo speaker, IP rating not disclosed

Nokia says its new Nokia 6 is a phone you can rely on. Sorry, Nokia you need to rely on every phone!

  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 630, 3GB/32 eMMC/microSD to 128GB
  • 5” QHD, 1920 x 1080, 16:9, IPS LCD, Gorilla Glass 3, small top and bottom bezel only
  • Dual rear cameras: 12MP, 1.4um, f/1.7 and 13MP telephoto, 1.0um, f/2.6 – with 2x Optical Zoom, dual pixel phase detection autofocus and Pro mode camera app
  • Selfie: 16MP 1.4um
  • Two mics and 3.5mm audio jack
  • Wi-Fi N dual band and Bluetooth 5.0
  • 3000mAh battery
  • LTE 150/50Mb/s
  • Pure Android Oreo 8 and Google Assistant
  • A$449 in May

What’s missing: Qi charge (not usual on mid-range), no stereo speaker, IP rating not disclosed, still 16:9 format screen.

Nokia 1 is billed as a complete Nokia smartphone experience, accessible to everyone – and we hope so!

It is a first phone, give it to your kids and slip in a pre-paid sim.

  • MT6737M Quad Core 1.1GHz, 1GB/8GB eMMC/microSD to 128GB
  • 5” FWVGA, 854 x 480, 16:9, IPS
  • Rear cameras: 5MP
  • Selfie: 2MP
  • One mic and 3.5mm audio jack
  • Wi-Fi N and Bluetooth 4.2
  • 2150mAh removable battery
  • LTE Cat 4
  • IP52
  • Pure Android Oreo 8 (Go Edition)
  • A$149 in May. Xpress-on covers extra

The fifth announcement is for the Nokia 8810; another retro icon ‘banana’ phone reloaded to have 4G.