For the most part, “cheap and cheerful” doesn’t exist. Sure, there’s cheap. But there’s also mostly “cheap crap.” Well, Google has been working hard to make cheap Android devices “not crap” with Android One, and recently Android Oreo “Go Edition” or Android Go for low-end devices.
Android Go is designed to run better and quicker on phones with less than 1GB of RAM, with a lighter OS and “lighter” versions of its apps like YouTube Go, Gmail Go and Gboard Go.
With 1.3 billion users still on feature phones, there’s a whole bunch of people ripe and ready for their first smartphone experience.
This is where Android Go comes in, and first out of the gate, is the Nokia 1.
Just announced at MWC 2018, Nokia 1 is designed from ground up as an entry-level smartphone for emerging markets.
Specs are nothing to shout about of course: 1.1GHz MediaTek MT6737M chipset, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. It gets a 4.5-inch (854×480) display and a 5MP rear camera with LED flash and 2MP selfie unit.
The device comes with a 2,150mAh battery that charges via micro-USB.
It’s affordable, and at least cheerful with the big surprise being the customisable Xpress-on covers, a throwback to Nokia phones in the 90s.
The other notable thing is that it’s a dual-SIM device, and runs Android Oreo, albeit a stripped down version.
It’s the cheapest Nokia device to date, at USD85/MYR333 and will be available in April.
For more MWC 2018 updates, visit vernonchan.com/tag/mwc18.
