Nokia 5.1, 3.1 and 2.1 hands-on review

29 May 2018
It's been less than two years since HMD Global was founded. Yet the Finland-based company already has an almost fairytale-like success story unfolding around it. Even though the company still refers to itself as a "start-up", it mace out of a funding round earlier this month, with a $100 million in fresh investments and an impressive valuation of a cool billion dollars.

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  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • IV8
  • 30 May 2018

Hahaha.. These butthurt commenters are the laughing stocks.. Guess what.. Nokia is going to burst through the market no matter what they say.. These 5.1, 3.1 and 2.1 line up are solid and the pricing are tempting.. Remember Nokia make PHONES.. That doubles as a digital device.. The chipsets offered are more than enough for the usage.. Most importantly the tank like build quality.. Those people clamoring for more powerful chipset don't even fully make use of their own powerful phones.. Just buzz off and go buy xiaomi or whatever and complain about their quality there..

    • D
    • AnonD-122899
    • QXP
    • 30 May 2018

    These are such boring phones..... Even Xiaomi ones are much more exciting than these. Not wasting my money on these craps.

      r33fd, 29 May 2018More useless low end. Who buys such things ?people who only can afford it ... and they prefer nokia phone , not samsung or hwawei or oppo or xiaomi or other android phone

        • L
        • Lee
        • ibm
        • 30 May 2018

        Use sd450 for 5.1 la!

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • kAF
          • 30 May 2018

          Anonymous, 30 May 2018I'm curious... Nokia said P18...who find the information t... moreNokia's own website says it is mt 6755s dude, if possible go there and check, heck the gpu and lte modem are same too..
          Besides, just because last year they used 430, does not justify to use another 28 nm architecture processor, especially if sd 450 exists
          Mediatek might have tools to compete with upto sd 660.. but I don't think 660 existed 2 years ago for them to compete with
          Also again sd425 is an upgrade to sd 212, also people in sub 100$ category won't care about open gls 3.1 or whatever. Besides it runs different version of android(go edition which is supposed to be for such phones) The processor used in nokia 5 is not enough to say it is an upgrade, which is weird since there is no phone with sd 450 in nokia's line up and 5 would have had been perfect for that.
          Mediatek does make some good processors and qualcomm makes some bad processors too. It is upto manufacturers to not rip customers off, which, I'm sorry to say, nokia is doing with nokia 5 this year

            • ?
            • Anonymous
            • 08B
            • 30 May 2018

            Anonymous, 29 May 2018Also mt 6755 is p10.. p18 is overclocked p10, nothing more ... moreI'm curious...
            Nokia said P18...who find the information that P18 is mt6755 too? And where? Only because it's P1x? It means nothing! Proof :
            For exemple, P20 and P25 are both mt6757/mt6757CD...but P23 is mt6763! And P22 is mt6762! They don't use same GPU, same LTE modem and P22 uses 12nm when the others used 16nm. P22 is even limited to HD+ screen when P20 can handle fullhd.
            Naming is really difficult to understand!
            There isn't any official information that P18 is an overclocked P10...P10 already carries 4A53@2.0ghz+4A53@1.2ghz (it exists @1.8ghz too), overclocked? Really?
            Why not, an underclocked P20 for exemple?
            This soc even doesn't appear on Mediatek's official website.

            And even if it was the case? Last year, Nokia 5, uses Snap 430, 28nm too! was it a problem? 430 is mt6750's competitor that you find this year on Nokia 3.1.
            ISP is better on P10 too.

            And what about 425 on Nokia 2.1, still 28nm? Adreno 308 or recycled 305 from S400 released in 2013! Unable to run opengl3.1 API in 2018!

            If people who write P18 is mt6755 are the same people who say mt6750 is LTE Cat.4, we can doubt! Unchecked information!

            Come on, Mediatek has weapons to compete at least until 660 or even 835.
            I would prefer seeing P22 on Nokia 3.1 and P23 on 5.1...and I would be glad to see P60 on X5 or X7, but both 3.1 and 5.1 are upgrades of 3 and 5...

              In Those categories Price Matters; So:

              For 2.1 100 EUR:
              Options are:
              16/2GB
              13/5MP
              1080p
              Asus - ZenFone Live (L1) ZA550KL
              Xiaomi - Redmi Note 5A
              -----------------------------------------
              For 3.1 150 EUR:
              Options are:
              5.7" 18:9
              1080p
              Dual Camera
              Lenovo - K5
              Xiaomi - Redmi S2
              Lenovo - S5
              ------------------------
              For 5.1 200 EUR:
              Options are:
              +5.7" 18:9
              Base: 32/3GB
              Front Camera LED
              Dual Camera
              Fast Charge
              4000 mAh
              Xiaomi - Redmi Note 5 AI Dual Camera
              Xiaomi - Redmi Note 5 Pro [ Base: 64GB Internal / 4GB RAM ]
              Asus - Zenfone Max Pro (M1) ZB601KL [ 2160p@30fps - 1080p@60fps - 5000mAh ]
              -----------------------------

              HMD officially Made fun of Nokia Brand.

                • s
                • sadh
                • tDP
                • 29 May 2018

                Cary, 29 May 2018Nokia 5.1 2Gb/16Gb, MediaTek Helio P18, 2,970 mAh, 5.5”, 16... moreDont put urself in such a hard position by being stupid.
                All 2018 version will be .1 from previous gen, while YOU KNOW IT, that 2019 version will be 6.2, 5.2, 3.2.

                Stop pretending being stupid. Or maybe you are.

                  • K
                  • KMB877
                  • B$G
                  • 29 May 2018

                  abduz, 29 May 2018HMD is a start-up MS funded for employees of Nokia who were... moreFYI - HMD can use the NOKIA brand name for 10 years. They still have 8 and Nokia can change his mind...

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • kAF
                    • 29 May 2018

                    Anonymous, 29 May 2018Please defend 28nm on Snapdragon 425 too? No? Oh it's Qualc... moreAlso mt 6755 is p10.. p18 is overclocked p10, nothing more nothing less..

                      • a
                      • abduz
                      • 8pc
                      • 29 May 2018

                      ZloiYuri, 29 May 2018almost fairytale-like success story only for people who nev... moreHMD is a start-up MS funded for employees of Nokia who were part of the lay-offs. MS would either help them find other jobs or help them with a start-up, so came about HMD.

                      Nokia put it's weight behind it as well, as it benefits from gaining ground again. While FOXCONN produces the phones and can reap from it's success, while gaining a production plant (or two) that belonged to Nokia.

                      That is why, MS and Nokia have been gladly "giving" their liscence to "HMD," because HMD is technically a collaboration between Nokia and Microsoft. Should HMD succeed, both MS and Nokia gain ..if not, then neither of their names are the ones affected or placed as the company responsible in the headlines.

                      I wouldn't be surprised if in the next few years(or after the 10 year contract is over), Nokia repurchases their share making HMD entirely Nokia again while FOXCONN continues to produce the devices and Microsoft would have made back their "loss" that was the purchase of Nokia.

                      For anyone doubting this, always remember,
                      -HMD was born out of the blue, directly after the 2016 (which was the year the agreement ended were MS forbid Nokia from producing phones),
                      -without a reputation or history,
                      -formed of Nokia employees that MS laid-off,
                      -instantly granted ALL patents from Nokia and MS
                      ..and they (HMD) were specifically created to bring back Nokia devices.

                        • ?
                        • Anonymous
                        • kAF
                        • 29 May 2018

                        Anonymous, 29 May 2018Please defend 28nm on Snapdragon 425 too? No? Oh it's Qualc... morePlease defend 28nm on Snapdragon 425 too? No? Oh it's Qualcomm, it's always perfect?
                        It's not like the phone using 425 costs half of one that uses MT6750
                        ...and learn that Helio P20 use 16nm from TSMC
                        If only it used P20. Unfortunately its p10(mentioned on nokia site) if only you could search for MT6750...
                        that is quite similar to 14nm from Samsung used in S625, S626, S630, S636 and S660.
                        Again p10 is 28 nm
                        I'm not agree happy with mt6750 choice, this one use 28nm. It's 430's (28nm) competitor
                        I expect Helio P22 in 12nm, it's 450's (14nm) competitor with AI
                        So why not use sd 450?

                        I have no idea about what P18 is...28, 16 or 12nm? New one, not announced by mediatek

                          • a
                          • abduz
                          • 8pc
                          • 29 May 2018

                          r33fd, 29 May 2018More useless low end. Who buys such things ?People who cant afford the more expensive kind but want to be able to enjoy a close enough experience. That's seriously one of the most shallow comments I've read on here.

                            • Z
                            • ZloiYuri
                            • 352
                            • 29 May 2018

                            almost fairytale-like success story only for people who never heard about Foxconn, real developer and owner of fake "nokia" business.

                              • H
                              • H-1
                              • MxG
                              • 29 May 2018

                              I wish more manufacturers leave the "cool and hip" glass sandwich and return to the dated aluminum and plastic bodies.
                              Most of the glass sandwiches I've been encountering have at least one crack on the back... A dent on aluminum isn't such an eyesore.

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • 08B
                                • 29 May 2018

                                Anonymous, 29 May 2018Waiting for Merwyn sir to defend 28 mm architecture based m... morePlease defend 28nm on Snapdragon 425 too? No? Oh it's Qualcomm, it's always perfect?

                                ...and learn that Helio P20 use 16nm from TSMC that is quite similar to 14nm from Samsung used in S625, S626, S630, S636 and S660.

                                I'm not agree happy with mt6750 choice, this one use 28nm. It's 430's (28nm) competitor
                                I expect Helio P22 in 12nm, it's 450's (14nm) competitor with AI

                                I have no idea about what P18 is...28, 16 or 12nm? New one, not announced by mediatek

                                  • r
                                  • r33fd
                                  • LaF
                                  • 29 May 2018

                                  More useless low end.
                                  Who buys such things ?

                                    • C
                                    • Cary
                                    • pa9
                                    • 29 May 2018

                                    Anonymous, 29 May 2018All in all trustworthy and durable phones to those that nee... moreNokia 5.1 2Gb/16Gb, MediaTek Helio P18, 2,970 mAh, 5.5”, 16 MP, 8 MP €189/$219
                                    Nokia 3.1 2Gb/16Gb, MediaTek 6750, 2990 mAh, 5.2" 5.2” IPS with 720p+, 13 MP, 8 MP €139/$159
                                    Nokia 2.1 1Gb/8Gb, SD425, 4,000 mAh, 5.5" 720m, 8Mp, 5Mp €99/$115

                                    .................. All of them absolutely overprices. For mainly make calls i've seen phones for $65 a lot better than the Nokia 2.1

                                    Is this crap why HMD invested 100 millions on Nokia? Well be ready for the upcoming Nokias 5.2.1, 2.4.3, 3.5.7, 6.1.1alpha, 7.3.1b, etc. Which will be better or worse it'll depend of the version, with a bit luck perhaps they'll release a decoding table to understand them.

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • kAF
                                      • 29 May 2018

                                      Anonymous, 29 May 2018Waiting for Merwyn sir to defend 28 mm architecture based m... moreSorry for typo, Its 28 nm...

                                        • ?
                                        • Anonymous
                                        • pdH
                                        • 29 May 2018

                                        All in all trustworthy and durable phones to those that need mainly a phone.
                                        I expect these to sell reasonable well.
                                        I also hoped Snapdragon 450 to Nokia5.1 but otherwise very expected specks.

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