Nokia 5 "maybe, a moto G rival"

NOKIA 5

There’s a very retro feel to MWC 2017 as both Blackberry and Nokia are plotting their comebacks. Just like BB, the Nokia name is now owned by a third-party and it’s looking at making it big again.

As the name suggests, the Nokia 5 sits marginally below the Nokia 6 and above the cheaper Nokia 3; it’s the mid-range product in Nokia’s line-up and it has the potential to be the best.

Major technical specs. are 

• The design is very similar to Nokia 6, and it feels heaps and bounds above its price-tag. It’s constructed from a slab of 6000 series aluminium, that is it's been anodised with magnesium and alloy, and Nokia has been talking up just how rugged and durable it should be.

The back has a slight curve, as does the front, and they combine to make a phone that feels perfectly sized. Thanks to the smaller 5.2-inch display – rather than the 5.5-inch panel on the Nokia 6 – it’s a lot more manageable in one hand.

I do wish that display was 1080p, rather than 720p, and I think if that pushed the price up slightly then I would take the hit. Both Moto and Honor have similarly priced phones with a FHD panel and it’s the one thing that I see holding the Nokia 5 back.

• The Snapdragon 430 CPU sits under the metal back, and it’s a competent mid-range processor. Again it’s not quite up to the Snapdragon 6-series used in the Moto G, but it should chew through browsing and light gaming with ease. 

• There’s 2GB RAM too, and 16GB of internal storage that can be expanded via the microSD card slot.

• The 3,000 mAh battery should easily give you a day of use, especially when you take into account the lower-res display. It’ll charge via micro-USB, rather than the more forward-thinking USB-C.

I am literally more positive about the processor because of the software used. There’s no heavy skin here, just a clean version of Android 7.1.1. It even ships with the Pixel Launcher and the Google Assistant, two features that are rare to see on anything other than a phone direct from Google.

Nokia is promising swift software updates along with monthly security patches, two things will definitely set it apart from the crowd.

MY OPINION - Cheap and cheerful, the Nokia 5 doesn’t impress in every area but it’s a good looking device with clean software and a really nice design.