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HMD's Nokia 2.3 has been announced for sale in the US. This low-end phone is just $129 but still manages to look like a respectable device.
[...] it runs stock Android with no crapware.
[...] There are some nice extras here, too, like a micro SD slot, a headphone jack, FM Radio support, and a dedicated Google Assistant button on the side.
[...] There are some downsides that come with the low price. First, there's no fingerprint reader. The only biometrics are a selfie-cam-powered face unlock feature, which can't be that secure since it only does a 2D face scan. Second, you're getting the old micro USB port for charging, instead of the newer, reversible USB-C, which is a shame. This also means there's no quick charging, and instead you get a pokey 5V/1A charger. Third, there's no NFC, so you won't be able to tap-and-pay at the register. Fourth, it only comes with Android 9 Pie, although an upgrade to Android 10 is planned at some point.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/01/dirt-cheap-nokia-2-3-comes-to-the-us-for-just-129/
Only downside [for me] is the fact that it actually has a selfie-cam-powered face unlock feature. How about you?
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Wednesday January 22 2020, @09:12PM (2 children)
Precisely, the only real downside is the USB connector, not that I don't have a bunch of those cables lying around, but the new connector is probably better. To bad they didn't go all the way with a removable battery, but at least it's a decent capacity.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Wednesday January 22 2020, @10:23PM
Absolutely agree, however, and I'm EE but not phone expert, USB-C has different circuit functionality, higher voltage and current potential, requiring higher power capable circuitry, which would be additional designs, and costs, and maybe bigger size and likely greater power dissipation. So maybe they compromised, and/or they haven't fully developed their USB-C stuff. Or, maybe this phone's chosen chipset doesn't support USB-C...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 23 2020, @01:29AM
The Nokia 1 had a removable battery... honestly the only good things about the Nokia 1 were the price, the headphone jack, the SD card support, and the removable battery. Everything else was garbage. It appears the Nokia 2.3 is better in that it has more RAM and probably a faster CPU, but worse in that its battery is non-removable and it has a notch (and possibly more spying AI/Google Assistant bullshit).
Another thing worth noting is the Nokia 1 had a locked bootloader and utterly abysmal software updates. Seemed like a 30-50% chance that every update would break something. One time they broke the on screen keyboard - they uploaded a version compiled for the wrong architecture or something. Similarly the messages app broke somewhat recently [nokia.com] for over two weeks, glad I was offline and missed that one. The lock screen had a habit of not accepting the correct PIN, and after the Android 9 update it would even start crashing on unlock occasionally.