GSMArena reviews the Nokia 3
I highly respect GSMArena because of their expertise and generally because it is the best way to quickly learn about the specs of a desired phone. I enjoyed reading their reviews of all kind of phones, since they gave relevant opinion backed up with various tests. But, lately something has changed there, probably the journalists and bloggers writing for them. They were among first one to publish a short review of Nokia 6 and it was kind of ambiguous (video review at least). They were generally dissatisfied with the phone in the review, but they also spoke highly about many parts, and said that the phone overcomes its price point. Then they reviewed the Nokia 3310 and called that particular phone a bad nostalgia. Ok, Nokia 3310 is the best marketing job ever done, and it really is a piece of nostalgia for the nostalgic, but it is also rather cool, tough and capable peace of feature phone hardware. It is a feature phone, and just that… That is its purpose, it is not a s40 or smart phone.
Now, they reviewed the Nokia 3, an entry level smartphone which they called an unfinished (or un-Finnished, as not Nokia, even though HMD is Finnish company) business. Second Death Star was unfinished, but Nokia 3 seems to be a pretty much finished, cheap and capable smartphone. I agree that HMD could have done the hardware differently in some aspects, like placing Snapdragon instead of Mediatek, or putting a bigger battery, but then the price would have been higher, and HMD is also betting on after-sale experience (updates, support) and including it in the price… I also agree that HMD should have released this phone few weeks after it was unveiled, but that doesn’t change the fact that Nokia 3 is a good entry level smartphone. The shortcomings listed in the review are not so bad for that price point. Of course, it’s un-comparable specs-wise to Chinese phones like Xiaomi or Meizu, because Nokia 3 will be released globally and has a big support network (and update promise) behind it, and that affects the price. For users that want the absolute best for their money, neither introduced Nokia phones, or any non-high end phone from a global brand is the choice, because you will always find something more powerful for the same price.
Just wanted to point that if you are reviewing an entry level smartphone like Nokia 3, you should modify the way of critical thinking on a appropriate level. One cannot review a low budget phone and expect to have all the perks or power as a midrange or flagship phone. The best thing would be that Samsung Galaxy 8 is an entry level phone at a price of €139. Maybe then everything would be perfect for grandpa, grandma, kindergarten teacher and engineers at NASA.
There are many phones out there priced around €139, and my opinion is that on overall experience Nokia 3 is or could be in top of its class. HMD will make it run Android 7.1.1, what many others won’t see and I wouldn’t like for retailers to raise the price much above targeted one, because it will make people think it can deliver more if it has Nokia logo on it. Also, HMD promised Android O, and that’s a huge deal for a low end device.Also, we cannot dismiss all the positive comments most buyers areleaving. Maybe they are die hard Nokia fans, but maybe the phone isn’t that bad for an average user.
Definitely check the full review at GSMArena.com because you can find many interesting data about the device.
What do you think about the 3? Tell us your experience about it in the comments down below. 🙂
