Let’s face it. We all want a second phone for when the main phone battery is drained or for that extra eye candy. Whatever the case, the Nokia 2, one of Nokia’s Android devices makes a very good secondary phone and beta eye candy because of its design, build and more importantly, functionality despite its price.
It was released late last year and is one of the devices Nokia touts to compete with your mid-range Android devices; the crossed T’s and dotted I’s. We move.
The Nokia 2 is an Android device and if you didn’t know, Nokia now sports the Android operating system and has a “Nokia loves Android” tagline they are running with. Without jumping the gun, my first impression of the Nokia 2 was that it ran nicely with the Android OS on it but I will break down what I mean by “nicely” in the following paragraphs.
DESIGN
The Nokia 2 is a dual SIM, 5inch corning gorilla glass 3 touch screen device with an aluminum build, metal trim round its edges and a plastic back. It comes with 720×1280 pixel resolution which is pretty decent for a device within its range. It’s curved edges make it easy to operate with one hand but its thickness might be a slight bother. Still the metal build and aesthetic of the Nokia 2 make it a fine phone to look at. The basics are as they usually are; headphone jack on top, power on/off button on the right side with volume rocker, charging port at the base; a strip of metal behind that houses the 8MP camera and flash and a big dot close to the top left corner which is the 5MP selfie camera. The plastic back panel houses the dual SIM compartment and the memory card slot.
SOFTWARE/HARDWARE
The Nokia 2 runs on the Android 7.1.1 operating system given you a traditional Android experience; nothing customized (yet?) and this shows that when software updates hit, you will get it as well on the Nokia 2. The device is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 1.3GH quad core processor which impacts on the abilities of the device but you will have to manage the 1GB RAM on it which of course limits your adventure with multitasking and app navigation.
Both cameras are rather impressive and perform exquisitely with natural lighting and outdoor shots!
CAMERA
Quite honestly, I was not expecting much from the Nokia 2 Camera, mainly because it was being touted as a mid range device but, the 8mega pixels back camera with flash and HDR really stunned! The f2.7 aperture on both cameras are rather impressive and perform exquisitely with natural lighting and outdoor shots! Weirdly when I used them in a low lit environment, neither cameras let in that much light and with the flash, it wasn’t still the best shot for me, so, except it is absolutely necessary, I will advice you skip the flash and stick to natural lighting. Focus on the device is a bit tricky – you’d have to be stable to take pictures else they will come out blurry.
The selfie camera is 5mega pixels and comes with an f2.7 aperture and no front flash but has a nice beauty face feature that filters your face and produces a fine photo. Most pictures taken on the Nokia 2 come out very soft and this makes you appreciate the natural state of your subjects even more because colors are not overpowering or the least saturated.
Observation: the camera takes a while to launch.
STORAGE
The Nokia 2 has 8GB of internal memory and, thankfully has expandable storage with a MicroSD card slot to as much as 128GB.
BATTERY POWER
Nokia came through on this one!
One of the most impressive things on the Nokia 2 is the battery capacity! It comes with a 4100mAH battery which lasts for more than a day without having to recharge if all you do is the ‘basics’; WhatsApp, Twitter, email, a little Instagramming and calls. For a phone in its range, ahhh, the battery is great! Competition puts theirs at between 2800mAH and 3000. Though the back panel of the Nokia 2 is removable, the battery isn’t and there is no fast charging feature for the battery on this Nokia.
PRICING & VERDICT
The Nokia 2 is selling for N32,000 on Slot and Jumia right now which in my opinion, is a perfect 5 for a mid-range phone and is much better looking than many other devices on and above it’s (price) range. The RAM and internal storage could have gotten a bump but this is not the phone you want to demand too much of. The fact that the Nokia 2 runs on stock Android is also really good; as such there is no bloatware so that saves you performance power and storage. No dual functioning apps and what not.
So, if you are looking for a strong, (almost) always charged second phone for yourself or someone who deserves a new Android phone, the Nokia 2, at the price it’s going for is a steal!
