Nokia’s new smartphone won’t win any performance prizes. But what it does give you is three years of Android updates — guaranteed and cheap.
In Europe the Finnish maker is asking for just US$146 for its new 2.2 phone.
For this low price, you get the latest Android version, plus updates to the next two version, Q and R, as well as three years’ security updates, all running through the clean version of Android One without unnecessary add-ons from Nokia.
At a time when significant, useful improvements come from software updates, the promise for a set amount of updates shouldn’t be underestimated.
As to be expected from a phone in this price range, the hardware is rather at the lower end of the scale, and yet the screen with HD resolution has relatively small bezels and the camera indentation at the upper edge isn’t intrusive.
The main camera has a resolution of 13 megapixels and is supposed to deliver good pictures even in low light, thanks to the help of software.
Inside the successor to last year’s 2.1, the 2.2 has a quad-core processor from Mediatek, 2 GB RAM, 16 GB of read-only memory and a memory card slot. The 3000 mAh battery is replaceable.
There’s also a separate button for easy access to the Google Assistant, and users can also personalise their phone in the old Nokia tradition with coloured back shells called Xpress-on Cover. – dpa
