3.12.2018

I recently bought a new Xiaomi Mi to replace an annoying previous Chinese Android phone and wrote a glowing review of the Mi - in which I said it was the best phone I've ever owned despite also being the cheapest. Not any more though... ;-)Ok, so the Nokia 1 isn't going to challenge the Xiaomi Mi for the "best I've owned" accolade, but is certainly is the cheapest and with a vengeance. A competent 4G Android Oreo phone for £55? Almost unbelievable yet true. I had wanted an inexpensive backup phone to use a Three UK PAYG sim I already had, so it had to be at least 3G but initially I didn't really need it to be "smart". I bought a piece of plastic junk from Amazon for £25 which went straight back next day,then I saw the Nokia 1 while looking at other options. It was a bit more than I had intended to spend, but...Anyway I'm glad I did. The cut-down OS (Oreo GO version) the Nokia uses is essentially the same as the pure Android One version in the Xiaomi; there are minor omissions but they're few and far between and none that have any impact on phone operation in any significant way. The hardware is quite good too, within realistic limits, running all my usual apps without problem, in particular the mapping software I use (Viewranger) which can be heavy on resources and Firefox (I hate Chrome). I also tried to replace the default launcher with Nova (I have used it for years on other phones including the Mi) but it was a step to far and prone to crashing, so back to the stock Google Launcher 3 which is ok if somewhat basic.Get a fast microSD card and use it as internal storage. Oreo handles this transparently, you don't need to change anything when installing new apps or copying stuff to it, the OS will decide where to put it. If you have any stuff already on the phone it will offer to move things after it finishes formatting the card. Again this is automatic, all you do is tap a button and it gets on with it. Works perfectly.Two minor points - one plus, one minus : the lack of any magnetic compass so you can't tell which way you're facing when looking at a map unless you keep moving so the GPS can report direction, and the inclusion of a quite good FM radio that I missed in the spec. Nice. I'll just have to learn how to walk without accident while looking at the screen... or become one of those annoying people who keep bumping into you staring at their phone instead of looking where they're going.The phone is well made of decent plastic - including the screen - which really makes the addition of a proper tempered glass cover almost essential. Buy the one recommended in the listing - you get three (why???) but they transform the feel of the plastic screen which unprotected feels awful and is a real fingerprint magnet, turning into a smeary mess almost instantly. I also bought the recommended "gel" bumper case but although I'll keep it I wouldn't buy it again. The bare case is fine, the bumper is a bit bulky and not as soft as I expected; it doesn't really improve the feel at all and looks a but tacky IMO.Bottom line: if this was my only phone I'd be pretty happy with it especially at the price. Even with the much better Xiaomi Mi for comparison I'm still pretty happy with it - and that says a lot. I very much doubt you'll find a better phone for this sort of money. Just buy it :-)

28.7.2018

Nokia 1 Review.I have been using the Nokia 1 for a few days now, I initially chose the Nokia 1 as I was in the market for a simple and basic phone.I had considered using a feature phone but wanted/needed a few more features such as email, WhatsApp and internet for streaming music. My specific needs from a phone are;TextingWhatsAppEmailMusic streamingLight web use- news weather, Amazon etcPhone callsI don't need mega camera performance, whilst the one provided will not take high quality professional looking photos, it will take more than adequate ’snaps’ perfectly suitable for sharing on social media etc. I don’t play games on my phone or use other high resource dependant apps.Whilst there are a number of possible phones I could have picked,the Nokia swung it because it is an aAndroid One phone, running a slimmed down version of Android Oreo called Android Oreo Go, and it has guaranteed updates. The cost was also a factor. For the price of a top end phone you could buy 8,9 or even 10 or more Nokia 1’s!Out of the box it was the usual Android setting up experience. Signing in to my google account and waiting for a few updates. Then a couple of hours for it to be charged up. I had to add a couple of apps such as Amazon and Whatsapp.General usage is absolutely fine, there is a small pause before some apps open but it is one I can live with.Texting is just as you would expect using Google Messages app.Whatsapp is again just as you would expect, including sending and receiving pictures and videos.Email using Gmail Go is like any other Gmail experience.Bluetooth works; I have it connected to earphones, a speaker and my car, all working great. Music streams and plays without any problems.Google/Chrome once again work as you’d expectCalls I have made and received have been perfectly satisfactory.It is not the most modern looking phone but has a nice solid feel and can be used with one hand and fits in a pocket easily. I get through the day on one charge with moderate use.A negative is the 8GB storage. I can not understand why Nokia has done this - cost? Surely 16Gb would not have been that costly! After initial setup and apps installed I only had about 4GB left. I had a spare 32Gb sd card that I fitted and formatted as internal storage, which resolved this oversight.So far, it has done everything I would want from a phone, and as long as you remember it is not a flagship phone, or even a mid-range one. It is a bargain basement one. This could be the phone for you.It does not have any fancy tricks or fancy features. It does nothing that could be described as being outstanding but, in my opinion, it does nothing terribly either. It just does. As long as you are positive that you can live with the low-spec and understand the limitations of this phone then I would recommend you consider the Nokia 1.

23.10.2018

Build quality. Plastic polycarbonate removable back. Reminiscent of the Nokia Lumia 520. The 4.5” screen very similar in quality and resolution. Hard to see out doors in bright light. The loud speaker whilst clear is a little on the quiet side. With 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage a microSD card is essential. I formatted initially as removable storage which worked fine but was concerned that I would have problems with Apps and their updates so have now formatted it as internal.The Android Go apps are stripped down versions of the normal apps which in most cases you can still download any way. The Android Maps Go is not a SAT Nav enabled app like the full version. Still no problem as I have both installed.

20.2.2020

Enough for what I want ie to make phone calls, radio ( FM only) , sms, pictures and videos( although the quality is not as good as my Digital Panasonic DCM FT-1 compact camera which takes sharp HD pics and v. good video), plenty apps although limited memory here. Takes a few minutes to start up although I suspect this is the processor power and usually switches off the you have to click it on again - guess it's saving battery power. Battery lasts all day but will need charging every night with the special charger provided. Easy to share photos via sms - just click on the photo and look at the options at the bottom of the screen. Essential to buy the screen protector (follow instructions for fitting carefully!)

2.2.2020

Some of the reviews on here are correct, this phone can have a mind of its own, however that was only when starting up for the first time.The phone arrived within when it said it would and had at least 3/4 bar of charge. Getting the SIM and WiFi to connect on the first try didn’t work so required a lot of rebooting, however it did eventually come together, so patience is need. There was another further upgrade required when I had all of my apps installed. Also check the reviews on the Google Play apps, Microsoft office tools for example are not fully compatible, so if you want to save some work to the phone best to do it via PDF, I installed Adobe and then realised the phone has its own version for PDFs.Another thing to bear in mind is,

24.1.2019

Nokia may no longer be the leading brand of phones anymore, but they have a good heritage and a lot of experience in the phone market. The Nokia 1 is by no means the top of the range, but it is still a decent phone. It can run a little slow when loading up a lot of Apps and setting it up was a bit behind the curve in speed, but to be fair I was synching a lot of Apps and it was going through a security update too. Loaded with Android 8.1 and a few bloatware apps - not as many as others I have used - it was pretty much ready out of the box. You will need to provide the SIM and a Micro-SD card if you want to boost the storage (I got a 32GB card in with no issues).You have to bear in mind when looking at this phone that it is one tenth (and more)

16.9.2018

I'd like to start by saying the reviews by DAZ and EEJAY pretty much have this phone covered.I bought it because I became fed up with the ever increasing size of smartphones and have been looking/waiting for ages for a reasonably small smartphone. I wasn't especially bothered by price, but when I saw this inexpensive Nokia 1, I thought I'd give it a go. I am delighted with it so far. It's about the same size as the HTC Sensation XL (if anyone remembers that one) but lighter.The camera is basic (even in manual mode) and has a dreadfully slow shutter so you have to hold it very steady to get a good photo .....and wait for the click before moving. Forget taking shots of anything in motion,

17.6.2018

I decided against getting yet another big expensive phone and try something smaller, more compact. I used to have a Lumia 520 and it was such a nice phone, this phone is very reminiscent of it. It's rounder but has the same idea for Xpress-on covers and the shell has that nice texture that fits and feels nice to hold. It's also got a tiny screen, 4.5 inches but is great for single handed use and the 5MP camera takes reasonably good indoor snaps and nice outdoor ones.It runs the latest Android 8.1 but this is the GO version, it means some Google apps are smaller and more optimised for low power use. It has limited internal storage and probably isn't the best phone for the latest 3d gaming,

8.2.2019

If you're looking for a basic up-to-date smartphone that focuses on efficiency and resilience, the Nokia 1 is a good option.Easy to get up and running straight out of the box (removing the back casing not included, some more detailed instructions on that would have helped), the Nokia 1 runs on Android Go which is a stripped down version of the latest Android Oreo OS, designed for phones with less RAM. Though that limits some of the apps it can run, the ones it DOES, run well.The cameras are nothing particularly spectacular, but would do fine for snapshots. Voice recognition runs great. The construction of the phone's case feels robust and suitable for those with active lifestyles.

26.5.2020

I was pleasantly surprised that this came complete with box, battery, manual, earphones so like new. So far it's been fine, I've purchased an additional storage card, a protective screen and wallet. Didn't much like the exterior design of phone it was a little sharp on the edges but now it's in a protective wallet it doesn't matter. Whilst it appears to be one of the smaller phones still available it's not as small as I would personally like - iPhone 5 size or same size as my old HTC Wildfire would suite me better but it seems you can't get phones that small anymore so this is next best thing. I would say this would be an ideal starter/cheap phone for a child/teenager.....although they all seem to need new iPhones these days and this probably wouldn't be good enough for a child!

21.10.2019

Bought for my Dad as he only has a company phone and needed a personal one for his stay during hospital. He had never used Android before and very pleased at how simple and straight forward to use it was for him.This phone does the bare basics; phone, text, email, basic apps such as Whatsapp, bare bones camera. Set your expectations accordingly, this is not a flagship phone with a blisteringly fast processor, this phone is not designed to be your backup camera, its not designed to replace your laptop or tablet.If you need a phone in a pinch, that is cheap, reliable, has great battery life, and is straight forward to use; then you cannot go wrong with this device. Does what it says on the tin,

26.1.2019

This was my first excursion into 'smart' phones. I'd had my previous Samsung 'Genio' for 8 years, still using the original battery !A gift token from a relative needed using and as nothing else was needed a new phone came to mind ! After much researching ( price and abilities ) I picked the Nokia. Quite pleased with the build quality. It took me a while to get used to the increase in technology/apps since my old phone. After a month I'm now feeling quite happy with it - quite a boon to be able to read emails / check news/GPS etc. without switching the computer on or while out and about. Reasonable sized screen. Battery life seems quite good - I'm not a continual user and have managed up to 4 days between chages.

19.1.2019

This will never replace your super-duper smart phone that costs as much as your mortgage every month. This however pound for pound is an excellent budget phone that exceeds expectations. The Nokia 1 is a phone I compare favourably with the budget Motorola (which are also excellent) - much better quality camera than you deserve at this price (5mp), good solid battery and seems to have no problems coping with the newest version of Android. In short this is a phone you use in an emergency. the one you have whilst at a festival or on a good night out. This is the phone you have if you are not flash but want the job doing well. This is the phone you have if you really do think that spending a grand on a phone that will go out of date is ridiculous.

4.11.2018

The Nokia 1 is relatively small but not too small so it fits well in the pocket but the screen is still relatively comfortable to use. I will admit, after using a bigger phone I find it harder to type on this one but that's a thing that I'm gonna get used to. The battery life is OK it doesn't last as long as the old phones but it is good enough to rely on; I don't panic now when I see it at 30% as I used to with my old phone. The sound is fine except with the incremental adjustment where the lowest setting is still quite loud. The contacts app also seems unable to read contacts off the sim card and tries keenly to involve Google which is a bit annoying.

18.7.2019

I love Nokia phones - I've had a few now and have always found them to be good quality. This little chap is no different. I am fed up with all the super-expensive, all bells-and-whistles phones that do everything but run your bath and cook your dinner. I want one that does the basics plus runs a few useful apps - plus can take a micro SD card for music, movies and photos - and this does it all, and does it well. I've been using it for a little while now and I have had no problems whatever with its performance. The battery lasts ages and charges quickly and it takes good photos too. I am very pleased with it indeed - and that's saying something because it replaced a perfectly functional

Nokia X-Press on Cover Dual Pack (Nokia 1) - Reviews

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