Smartphone Nokia 3.1 A - advantages and disadvantages

In early June, Nokia introduced an improved Nokia 3.1 A smartphone based on the new Android 9 Pie, which pleased its fans and replenished the budget segment. The model is not much different from its predecessor, released in October 2018, but the world of technology does not stand still, and developers will improve their phones according to new requirements and improvements. So this smartphone received an updated kit for the realities of 2019.

Description of the novelty

This state employee is distinguished by a large 5.45 inch HD screen, the presence of an 8-core Snapdragon 429 processor, although not the latest version, but in terms of its performance it has a good rating.

For phones with an average price of $100, this model received pretty good specifications, smoother operation and a new operating system. A separate advantage over other "inexpensive" smartphones was the presence of Google Assistant.

HMD Global has previously reported that it has released this phone specifically for US consumers, and it is now available on Walmart for $89. It went on sale from June 10, when it will appear on the global market, and how much it will cost has not yet been disclosed.

Characteristics

CPU

The phone received in this version the Qualcomm SDM429 Snapdragon 429 processor, which has 8 cores, with a frequency of 1.8 GHz Cortex-A53. The Adreno 504 adapter is responsible for the graphics side.

Such an engine will improve performance, unlike last year, but to play the most resource-intensive games, you will have to set the minimum settings. This phone is not declared as a gaming phone, so the use of the latest processor versions in this model was not expected.

But the presence in it of the entire set of sensors, including a gyroscopic sensor, makes it possible to use AR applications with augmented reality.

To enjoy modern games to the maximum, it is better to choose older versions and more powerful devices. For active games, this device is definitely not suitable.

Elegant case design

The famous brand did its best to design for its line of smartphones and did not let down its many fans.

The case is made in a classic style of polycarbonate, the corners are rounded, the frame is made of metal, which gives the smartphone elegance and sophistication.

At 152.7 x 71.9 x 9.4 mm, the phone comes out at just 156 grams, making the user happy, the lighter weight will create a more pleasant feeling in the hand.

The Nokia 3.1 A has beautiful curves and shiny aluminum edges, but it's not a bezel-less design. The edges of the display have fairly wide margins, although the glass with a protective effect of Corning Gorilla Glass fits very tightly and the cut is smooth.

The plastic back cover has a pleasant structure to the touch, but leaves fingerprints, which is noticeable on a black background and spoils the appearance of a stylish phone.

Above the screen in the center is a speaker for talking, on the right is the company logo, on the left, already traditionally, is the front camera.

An incomprehensible design decision is the location of the touch buttons “home”, “minimized applications”, “back”, located above the lower black strip. Therefore, this black rectangle remains unused and completely incomprehensible for what it was made.

The button responsible for blocking is located on the right side of the top, next to the volume control button. Reaching out with your thumb is quite comfortable.

On the left side there are two slots - for a SIM card, nanoSIM size, and for a microSD card. To save space, many developers replace memory cards, so for Nokia 3.1 A this will be a good advantage.

On the bottom panel there is a speaker with a hole for a microphone, as well as a connector for charging and transferring data in microUSB format.

And the upper part of the side case is used for a 3.5 mm headset jack.

The back cover is decorated with the Nokia logo, shimmering in relief in the light. And also on it is the main camera and flash, slightly protruding. They also have an additional microphone above them.

Screen

The updated smartphone received a larger "tall" 5.45-inch display with an HD screen resolution of 720 x 1440 pixels, the density per inch is 295 pixels. An IPS-matrix is ​​installed for the screen, which allows to improve color reproduction and is distinguished by a good viewing angle, its contrast and adjustable brightness.

Also, an oleophobic coating was additionally applied to Corning Gorilla Glass, significantly improving the strength and quality of the coating.

The backlight of the screen has an option of automatic brightness or can be adjusted manually, the minimum backlight of the display will allow you to comfortably read books in the dark, and at the maximum - in the sun you can see the images on the screen.

cameras

The main camera of Nokia 3.1 A has an 8-megapixel sensor, complemented by autofocus, and also has an f / 2.0 lens and LED flash. With a small value of megapixels, the camera allows you to take good photos while driving, and in good lighting it will give great pictures. This camera will not allow you to take pictures at night and get great pictures, you can take pictures for domestic use, but the clarity and sharpness will suffer.

Indoors, image quality will suffer, but for amateur shooting, quite decent photos will turn out without problems. The presence of autofocus will allow you to choose which part of the photo to make clearer, and where to “blur” the background, which allows you to focus on a specific area of ​​the picture. But keep in mind that the autofocus operation slows down the shooting process a little, so you should not rush.

Video on the main camera can be shot in Full HD-quality 1920x1080 pixels and 30 frames per second.

The front camera received a 5 megapixel lens and its focus is fixed and the aperture is f / 2.0. The video will be already HD-resolution with 1280x720 pixels and a frequency of 30 frames per second.

The interface of the camera application has no particular flaws or complications, when you turn on the main screen of the camera, you can immediately activate the HDR mode, enable or disable the flash, change the main or front camera, select the video mode, or go to additional settings.When photo mode is enabled, it is easy to adjust image brightness using the viewfinder.

You can independently adjust the evaluation method and exposure level, black and white balance, focus. To quickly launch the camera, hold down the power and volume buttons, and to take a photo, just press the volume button instead of the usual button on the screen. Sample photos are shown below.

Sound options

The sound quality of the speaker deserves special respect. In many budget smartphones, listening to music through speakers is impossible without unnecessary background sounds. And for this phone, even at high volume, a fairly good sound purity is preserved, you need to activate a special amplifier dedicated to the speaker.

The default player is Play Music. Also, the phone is equipped with a built-in FM tuner, when you connect a headset, you can listen to your favorite radio stations.

Communications

From wireless connections, the phone is equipped with Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE. The presence of the latter characteristic can be attributed to the advantages of new items.

The phone also has a 2.0, Type-C 1.0 reversible USB connector, and GPS and GLONASS can be used to determine the location and navigation, there is also support for A-GPS technology.

The model does not use Dual SIM, as usual for many other smartphones, the second slot is designed only for memory expansion, and not for a second SIM card.

Battery

Although 2990 mAh seems small for modern smartphones, manufacturers have managed to organize the smartphone operation system so that this capacity is enough for 2 days without excessive use.Nokia 3.1 A is equipped with a fast charging function using a 10 W charger. You can get a full battery in just half an hour, which is a huge plus and convenience in using a smartphone every day.

In the settings, you can enable or disable the power saving option, as well as use the automatic activation of this function when a certain battery charge level is reached, respectively, the transition to energy saving mode is activated by 5% or 15%.

Advantages and disadvantages

• beautiful design, high quality materials;
• Wi-Fi 11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 5.0;
• a separate slot for memory expansion, using microSD cards;
• operating system Android 9.0;
• average price in its segment;
• fast charging available.

• weak processor for active modern games;
• lack of unlocking with a fingerprint scanner;
• the presence of 1 sim card;
• weak rear camera for the realities of 2019.

conclusions

Which company is better and how to choose among numerous offers - these questions will always be faced by consumers before buying a new phone. And not one review will not give an exhaustive answer which one is better to buy. Package contents and interface Nokia 3.1 And among the budget market distinguish it from other competitors.

Now Nokia also pleases its customers with reliable and popular models, improving the functionality and interface with each new model. After all, many people know Nokia devices before the Android era, and few did without them in the 2010s and earlier. Finally, elegant and competitive phones in their price segment from this brand began to appear, and now again Nokia is included in the ranking of the best manufacturers according to the buyer's choice criteria.

Everyone decides which smartphone to choose for daily use, but as a budget phone, Nokia 3.1 A deserves to be in the ranking of high-quality inexpensive and popular models.