Nokia 3

Nokia 3 review: Three isn't the magic number

When Nokia announced its return to smartphones, there was an understandable excitement about the 2017 version of the Nokia 3310 , which saw the once classic phone dominate the headlines once again.

The Nokia 3, the most affordable of the three new Nokia-branded Android smartphones, was launched in India last month. It is the first smartphone with the Nokia name to hit the Indian market in a long time, but it's worth pointing out that it hasn't been manufactured by Nokia itself.

Nokia 3

ImageTagInstance gallery-f5e22285-cf5d-4fb3-bcb7-caeae3395e27 IntroductionNokia is back in town. A new company, HMD Global, has taken ownership of the popular brand and has big plans for the future, including a flagship phone with top specs.But even before that anticipated flagship, the new Nokia is back with a few affordable phones and we have its cheapest Android smartphone up for review: the HTMLTagInstance html-tag-82fe75c4-3dfc-43f6-96f1-df723b871c9e Nokia 3. ImageTagInstance gallery-a94a9daf-9672-45b1-941a-a67b0d6ad3d9 Why is this phone different than all the other cheap phones out there? For starters, Nokia commits to a clean, clutter-free Android user experience, and that’s important. The Nokia 3 runs on Android 7.0 Nougat, it features a sleek, recognizable design, 4G LTE connectivity and is priced to sell. But then, it also takes a few shortcuts that are hard to forgive, even on a dirt cheap phone: there is no fingerprint scanner, for instance.We look at the Nokia 3 in detail ...

Nokia 3 review review

Nokia 3 review: Affordable, but problems a'plenty

In 2014, Nokia left the smartphone arena. After years of producing great phones, the once-dominant mobile firm had let it all slip through its fingers, selling up to Microsoft after a disastrous few years as the only big firm making Window Phone handsets.

Nokia 3 review

As a first stepping stone into Android, the Nokia 3 isn't a bad buy - but it ain't a great one, either. For £130 you get a good-looking phone, without any hateful custom UI getting between you and your apps, but the fairly basic screen, slow camera and sub-par performance let the side down. If your budget will stretch further, there are superior handsets such as the Motorola Moto G5 and Lenovo P2. If it won’t? Vodafone’s Smart N8 only costs £85, and that manages to pack in a fingerprint sensor.

The budget smartphone category has been in the doldrums this year. With prices rising for gadgets across the board (thanks, Brexit), manufacturers have found it tough to continue to improve their products while keeping prices low.

Nokia 3 review: The Nokia 3 is cheap and you'll know it

The Nokia 3 sacrifices too much processing power to achieve its low price. You’re better off spending a bit more on the Motorola Moto G5. The Nokia 3 is the lowest-end of Nokia's new line of Android phones. It's on sale in the UK for £120, but you will have to make sacrifices for that price. That converts to $156 or AU$200, although Nokia has no plans to bring the phone to the US.

Nokia 3

The Nokia 3 is the lowest-end of Nokia's new line of Android phones. It's on sale in the UK for £120, but you will have to make sacrifices for that price. That converts to $156 or AU$200, although Nokia has no plans to bring the phone to the US. The biggest problems are in the processor performance.

Aluminium design The Nokia 3 has a precision machined aluminium frame, formed out of a single piece of aluminium. Nicely rounded edges give this Nokia phone that modern look and while there may be a polycarbonate back, you do at least get to enjoy a touch of premium materials.