The Nokia 1 is a $149 phone aimed at the unlocked, pre-paid sim market. Its quality and heritage alone make it a good buy. But more than that. With the right use case it is more than fit for purpose.
I admit to being a little perplexed at how to review a $149 phone. What should my expectations be? Does it need to take great photos or play music? Well no, it does not, so any of these things are a bonus.
A $149 phone is just as crucial to its buyer as a $1000 phone is to someone better off. While it is back to basics, reliability needs to be right up there.
A $149 smartphone should
- Be reliable and take a knock or three
- Use a pre-paid sim from any MVNO or carrier (not locked to a carrier)
- Make and receive calls, SMS and have good reception – a real bonus if it has 4G
- Handles email, calendar, contacts
- Takes adequate photos (unless you are a ‘photo-phile’)
- Battery should last at least a day
- The screen is reasonably outdoors readable
Sure a $149 phone will reach its limits faster than other phones. Anything else is a bonus.
The Nokia 1 met or exceeded all those paradigms.
Nokia 1 – In the box
- The phone
- USB 5V/1A charger
- Micro-USB to USB-A cable
- Basic earbuds/mic
- And a removable 2150mAh battery.
The first impression is a small, plastic, almost toylike phone with big bezels. Insert the battery, charge it and up comes Android 8.1 Go Edition. I like the grippy feel and the smaller 4.5” 16:9 fits well in-the-hand.
Specifications – Nokia 1 Model TA-1079 (single sim for Australia)
There is only one specification that matters – price. Can it do a good job for $149?
Rather than go through the full suite of tests and a lengthy review (which we did anyway), GadgetGuy’s comments below encapsulate our findings.
| Nokia 1 TA-1079 SS (Black with white highlights) | GadgetGuy comments | |
| Screen | 4.5”, 854 x 480, 16:9 ratio, 218ppi, IPS screen 5-finger touch. 24-bit for 16M colours. 61.8% S-T-B-R. Plastic screen has no ‘toughened’ glass so can scratch. | 250nits and contrast 2000:1 makes it just daylight readable. Colours are vibrant but not accurate. |
| Processor | MediaTek MT673M ARM-A53 Four-core 1.1GHz Media Tek calls it the most cost-effective all-in-one solution. Many sub-$250 phones use it. | The adage – never use a four-cylinder to tow a caravan! There were some lags, but overall it did well. |
| GPU | Mali-T720MP1 | Will play basic low fps games like Angry Bird |
| RAM | 1GB LPPDDR3 8GB eMMC (5GB free) MicroSD slot it 128GB. | Android Go is for 1GB. Yes, it can be laggy, but overall it’s pretty good. MicroSD for both internal or external memory and apps |
| Rear Camera | 5MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels LED flash HDR (can slow things down – disable it) 1280x720p@30fps (.92MP) | Passable daylight photos but limited depth of field. The video is ‘rough’ at .92MP |
| Front Camera | 2MP, 1600 x 1200 pixels No, fill or LED flash 480p@30fps (.32MP) | Fixed focus and low MP means selfies are adequate. Video frame rate regularly drops to 15fps |
| Comms | Wi-Fi N 2.4GHz only Bluetooth 4.2 FM radio A-GPS | 60Mbps download A-GPS works but lacks a compass or finer location position. Maps Go version lacks turn-by-turn navigation. |
| Sound | Earpiece speaker Rear-firing speaker vented through Express cover 3.5mm audio jack One Mic | Fine for calls. Handsfree gets the ‘tunnel effect’. 70dB volume is adequate Don’t expect any bass – it is for voice only |
| IP Rating | IP52 (drip protection) | All you need |
| Other | Micro-USB connector OTG support | Fine. OTG works well with Windows and Mac |
| Battery | 2150mAh removable battery BV-5V USB 5V/1A charger | Expect all-day 24+hrs life. We exhausted it in 10 hours of hard use. Recharge is four hours. The chip supports the use of 2-3A chargers for faster charging (not tested) |
| LTE | LTE Cat 4 150/50Mbps single sim plus microSD slot Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28, 38, 40 The chip supports VoLTE, VoWi-Fi depending on the carrier. | Higher quality than expected and all Australian bands. Download reached 65Mbps at 4 bars signal strength. VoWi-Fi is vital for small cell use. |
| Dimensions | 133.6 x 67.8 x 9.5 mm x 131g | Light in the pocket |
| OS | Android 8,1 (Go Edition for basic phones) Google manages all updates until the hardware cannot handle it. Google Assistant Special “Go’ versions of Google apps for power and memory management. | This is a ‘lite’ version that only loads what is needed. Otherwise, the experience is the same. Some apps simply can’t run. |
| Colours | Express polycarbonate changeable covers Warm Red, Dark Blue and other colours | Plastic without looking cheap |
| Missing | Let’s no go there | |
| Price | $149 | |
| Website | https://www.nokia.com/en_au/phones/nokia-1 |
GadgetGuy’s take
How much can you expect from an entry-level phone?
The Nokia1 provides more than I expected. It is a competent phone, hardy, the screen is OK, and battery life should give a full 24-hour day.
I did not mind Android Go, but compromises are evident. But I think I would spend more to get pure Android One on the Nokia 3 or Moto e5.
OK, If I had $149 and wanted a phone that is a step above a disposable, this is it. I would give it to kids and elderly parents.
Price
$149 from Harvey Norman.
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