The Nokia 6 will be available in early July:
HMD Global — the Finnish company that owns the rights to manufacture Nokia-branded smartphones — announced earlier this year that it would be releasing new midrange Nokia Android phones in the United States. We now have more information on the first Nokia phone to hit Stateside: the Nokia 6, which will be available in early July for $229.
The Nokia 6 is the largest of the three Android phones HMD Global announced at Mobile World Congress, featuring a 5.5-inch, 1920 x 1080 display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of internal storage (expandable by microSD). On the software side of things, the 6 runs Android Nougat in its purest, unadulterated form — that means no bundled apps or overlaid skins. Plus, while the specs are decidedly average, the Nokia 6 does stand out with a metal unibody design built out of a single block of aluminum, which adds a premium touch to the otherwise midrange device.
Amazon is subsidizing the Nokia 6 by slapping ads on the lock screen.
Related Stories
http://www.anandtech.com/show/11608/nokia-smartphones-to-exclusively-use-zeiss-optics
HMD Global and Zeiss on Thursday announced that they had signed an agreement under which upcoming Nokia-branded smartphones will use Zeiss-branded optics exclusively. The companies said that they would co-develop imaging capabilities of future handsets, but did not elaborate when to expect actual devices on the market.
The collaboration announcement between HMD and Zeiss has a number of layers, all of which seem to be significant. First off, Nokia's future phones will use optics co-developed with a renowned designer of lenses. The important upshot here is that HMD is actually investing in the development of custom capabilities for its Nokia phones. Second, the two companies are talking about "advancing the quality of the total imaging experience", involving optics, display quality, software, and services, but do not elaborate. From the announcement, it looks like HMD will put R&D efforts not only into optics but will design its own software enhancements to improve imaging capabilities beyond those offered by vanilla Android. A good news here is that certain future phones carrying the Nokia brand are not going to rely completely on off-the-shelf hardware, software, and reference designs. Third, HMD announced that imaging is one of the areas that it considers important for its future smartphones. Finally, Zeiss will be used on Nokia-branded devices exclusively, which means that future halo smartphones from Microsoft (if the company decides to launch them) will have to rely on other optics.
Previously: Nokia Smartphones to Return in 2017
Nokia (HMD Global) Attempting U.S. Comeback With Midrange Android Smartphones
Leaked image teases Nokia phone with five cameras
HMD appears to be working on an impressive camera array for a future Android-powered Nokia handset. Leaked design sketches and images hint that we could be about to see a Nokia-branded phone with five cameras on the rear. The penta-lens setup first appeared in rumors about a Nokia 10 device earlier this year, and now an alleged photo has leaked of the handset.
The camera module includes five lenses arranged in what looks like a circle, with prominent Zeiss branding. HMD Global, the Finnish company that licensed the rights to produce Nokia phones, teamed up with Zeiss last year to reunite the Nokia and Zeiss brands for the Android era. HMD has started to use Zeiss optics in its latest Android handsets, and the lens maker has even patented a miniaturized zoom camera system that looks very similar to this leak.
F*** Everything, We're Doing Five Rear Cameras.
But you still have a long way to go.
Also at Engadget.
Previously: Nokia (HMD Global) Partners with Zeiss for Optics Capabilities
LG's V40 Smartphone Could Include Five Cameras (total)
Related: Nokia Smartphones to Return in 2017
Nokia (HMD Global) Attempting U.S. Comeback With Midrange Android Smartphones
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Thursday June 29 2017, @01:24AM (12 children)
>Amazon subsidizes this [discounted] price by putting personalized ads on the lock screen. For some it’ll be worth it; for others, no way.
Not quite correct:
NO [bleep] [bleep] [bleep] [bleep] [bleep] [bleep] [bleep] WAY, you [bleeping] [bleep] [bleeping] of a [bleeping] [bleeping] [bleep] !!!!!
... but a couple of those qualifiers are negotiable.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Thursday June 29 2017, @01:35AM (11 children)
Give us a phone with a tiny screen.
Maybe even a mono display in candybar form, and a two week battery.
Let us add that to our plan for 5 bucks a month. They's sell a gazillion of them.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by bob_super on Thursday June 29 2017, @01:51AM (1 child)
Not tiny: 4 inches or so, with slim bezels to fit in any pocket. Not crazy resolution, just enough to check maps and mail.
Make it thick enough for a big battery, because slim doesn't matter, and neither does weight at this point: Charge once or twice a week for light use.
Security updates wouldn't hurt, and those are easier in there is no bloatware.
I think I will have to give up on the slider physical keyboard, very sadly...
(except for the form factor being just too big, this wish list translates to "gimme a new Priv")
(Score: 2) by choose another one on Thursday June 29 2017, @12:03PM
> (except for the form factor being just too big, this wish list translates to "gimme a new Priv")
I'm actually on the page of "gimme a new Curve" (I never tried the Priv though, maybe a smaller Priv would in fact suffice :-) ).
Slightly larger / higher res screen than the Curve wouldn't hurt, a better camera, and the ability to load todays bloated compute-heavy mobile-web, and a full range of apps (which basically means - "running Android" :-( ) - that would be ideal. And keep the same charge-once-a-week battery life and basic indestructibility of the original.
I ran my Curve until the rubber on the buttons was degrading and falling off, it still worked. Dropped more times than I can remember, screen replaced at least twice, keyboard once, battery twice I think (all parts pretty cheap and repairs DIYable). In the end what made me change it was app-support disappearing and its increasing inability to actually load webpages, whether due to out-of-date browser or compute/memory limitations or some combination of both.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by kaszz on Thursday June 29 2017, @02:04AM (4 children)
Precisely, a modern Nokia 3310 clone. With the indestructibility that goes with it.
Screen: Monochrome and small - Saves battery
CPU/RAM: Less - Saves battery and opportunities for malware to stick around.
Keys: Real! - works even without light etc.
Unlocked bootloader of course. But I'll suspect a OS like Android will be need to gain any market foothold.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Thursday June 29 2017, @02:39AM (2 children)
That already exists.
Google it.
But the bigger the screen the more Temptation for advertisers, so small is good.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Thursday June 29 2017, @04:03AM (1 child)
The Nokia 3310 reloaded seems to have these specifications:
* Charging by micro-USB
* 2.4" color TFT display at 240 x 320 pixels 18 bpp, 167 ppi
* 2 Mpix camera with LED flash, 1600 x 1200 pixels
* mp3-player
* 3,5 mm headset jack (WH-108?)
* 2G compatible, GPRS, EDGE, 0.236 Mbit/s
* FM radio
* ROM: 16 MB
* Storage: 16 MB + micro-SD/SDHC that support up to 32 GB
* 115.6 x 51 x 12.8 mm, 0.0796 kg
* Dual band GSM 900/1800 MHz
* Bluetooth v3, A2DP
* 1200 mAh removable battery, 31 days standby time, 22 hours talk time
* 49 EUR 2017-02-26
* Operating system: 30+ [wikipedia.org] originally made by Mediatek for Microsoft's Nokia
src [pocket-lint.com]
src [arstechnica.com]
src [phonemore.com]
src [gadgets7.news]
src [indiatimes.com]
It really seems neat. But they botched it with color screen which equals excess power draw. And 2G lacks the security of 3G which means that the network may be spoofed. The operating system could been something free, after all with plenty of CPU capacity and RAM it won't need any shoehorn anymore (I think the original even used ATmega?).
So good, but not really there. Add 3G and free bootloader and it's worthwhile.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Thursday June 29 2017, @04:07AM
Is this phone is as "drop" sturdy as the original?
(Score: 2) by butthurt on Thursday June 29 2017, @04:15AM
As frojack may have been hinting, there's a current phone called the Nokia 3310 (they could at least have added bis to the name).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_3310_(2017) [wikipedia.org]
It runs Java Micro Edition apps.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Series_30%2B [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 29 2017, @03:19AM
How about one of these [wired.com], also from Nokia? No mono display, but it claims 38 day battery life so should pass the 2 week bar.
I don't know if I'll get that exact one, but my next phone will be a dumb phone.
(Score: 2) by butthurt on Thursday June 29 2017, @03:58AM (2 children)
Sharp used to make a colour LCD display that could be viewed without a back-light. The Danger Hiptop had it.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 29 2017, @09:17AM (1 child)
It's called a transflective LCD, and my Garmin GPS has one. Not only is it easily readable in direct sunlight, it also only needs the backlight turned on when used in low light conditions.
Basically it replaces the backlight with a mirror. Well, not quite replaces, it has both.
(Score: 2) by butthurt on Thursday June 29 2017, @08:33PM
Thank you, that's it. Some pages about it:
article explaining why transflective displays are uncommon in mobile phones
https://www.manufacturing.net/article/2012/07/what-happened-transflective-displays [manufacturing.net]
photos of such a display on a Garmin GPS, compared with an AMOLED display
http://infracanis.com/yggdrasil/Articles/gear/garmin550/vsphone.html [infracanis.com]
Wikipedia article
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transflective_liquid-crystal_display [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by stormwyrm on Thursday June 29 2017, @01:47AM (6 children)
Is it one of those phones for which bootloader unlock, root, and custom ROM are a reasonably well-documented procedure that a power user can perform (cf. the Nexus devices) or is Nokia/HMD one of those manufacturers that work as hard as the game console companies to prevent the people who buy their devices from taking full ownership of them? If they're closer to being the former, I'm picking one of their phones when my current Nexus 6p reaches obsolescence.
Numquam ponenda est pluralitas sine necessitate.
(Score: 2) by Nerdfest on Thursday June 29 2017, @02:00AM (3 children)
Likewise here. I still use a Nexus 5. I've been waiting for a phone with a reasonable price and reasonable specs that is not ruined by poorly done UI corruptions and bundled bloatware. This may very well be it, but it would be nice to have it well supported by the mod community.
(Score: 2) by Absolutely.Geek on Thursday June 29 2017, @02:19AM (2 children)
I was running a N5 for a few years but sadly the power button gave up...I didn't really have time to fix it so I replaced it with a N5X.
One thing about the N5X that is significantly better then the N5 is the radio; I get much much better reception then I ever did on the N5. Other then that the upgrade wasn't really noticeable. If the power button on my N5 had not failed I would still be running it now. My partner is still running hers; it has already had about a year of extra use compared to my one.
Not sure what I would buy if my N5X came to an untimely end or what my partner would get if her N5 failed.
Don't trust the police or the government - Shihad: My mind's sedate.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Nerdfest on Thursday June 29 2017, @04:00AM
Yeah, the "Good device for a fair price" thing doesn't seem to be popular anymore. I'd rather have a mid-range device that can be rooted and tweaked than a "high-end" device with a locked bootloader and a horrid replacement UI.
(Score: 2) by richtopia on Thursday June 29 2017, @06:16PM
My phone is a used 5x. I don't see any reason to move away from the platform if I need a replacement.
You are right about the radios and miss another aspect: it covers a lot of LTE radio bands. If you travel internationally the 5x is about as old of a phone as you can go and still get LTE most places.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Thursday June 29 2017, @03:39PM
Give it an easily-removable battery and an unlocked bootloader and root so I can load LineageOS or some other 3rd-party ROM if I want, give it a nice AMOLED screen, and make sure Otterbox makes a Defender case for it, and I'm getting one.
(Score: 1) by Crash on Thursday June 29 2017, @06:28PM
A few months ago Motorola's G5 Plus was $239 (from $299) via Amazon's lockscreen-AD-discount.
Yet today, the base price of the G5 Plus has already dropped to $229 at most retailers. The G5 Plus trounces the Nokia 6 on hardware specs, with Nokia 6 tending towards low midrange, while the G5 Plus is high midrange.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 29 2017, @01:50AM (7 children)
Nokia made its name by its designs, the mechanical bits.
That's irrelevant on smartphones.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 29 2017, @01:52AM (6 children)
(Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday June 29 2017, @02:40AM
I don't have so much first hand experience with all these goddamn phone manufacturers, but I get the impression that even the Chinese brands are upping their quality while keeping prices low. And certainly there is a lot of "choice":
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mobile_phone_makers_by_country [wikipedia.org]
Can Nokia offer something in an Android smartphone that you can't find in a Huawei, Xiaomi, ZTE, Lenovo, OnePlus, or HTC phone? Keep in mind that quality can go from abysmal to great in a year or two and there is no shortage of phone reviewers out there.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 29 2017, @02:41AM (4 children)
Wrong. You see, smartphone is not really a phone, it's a handheld computer with touch interface, it's a thin rectangular device with screen on it. Mechanical design is just not a factor.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by c0lo on Thursday June 29 2017, @03:22AM
It can be, if they can add a sliding keyboard: larger screen economy, better tactile sense (than the virtual keyboard on the screen); may make a whole difference for the visual-impaired people.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 29 2017, @03:47AM (1 child)
(Score: 2) by urza9814 on Thursday June 29 2017, @04:38PM
Yeah, I think durability is a *bigger* issue with smartphones. Screens break easier than the plastic a lot of those old phones were made of; a cracked screen is a bigger usability issue than cracked plastic; and replacing a broken smartphone screen can cost more than the full price of one of those old feature phones.
But while I agree a larger battery would be nice, I can also see thinness as part of a viable strategy to improve durability (indirectly perhaps). I certainly don't need my phone to be half a millimeter thick, and such a phone would probably shatter pretty quick...but my S5 in an Otterbox is around a half inch, which feels just about perfect. The thinner the phone, the more plastic and rubber you can pack it in. And yes, they could just build that into the phone...but if you do drop it and the case breaks absorbing the impact, it's easy to replace. If the case is built-in, you've still got a busted phone. Plus it's kinda nice to decouple the internal hardware from the external aesthetics for people who are into those things.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Nerdfest on Thursday June 29 2017, @04:01AM
Maybe they could drop the "thin" part, add 3mm to it and have 3 or 4 days of battery life like we all keep screaming for.
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Thursday June 29 2017, @12:56PM
I'm still using my Nokia N800 and wishing I could use it as a phone, too.
Granted, today's version would probably need more RAM and so-called disk storage.
And I'd like it to use a stock Linux kernel without proprietary drivers so I could keep it up-to-date after the manufacturer lost interest, but it was a great little machine for its time.