Nokia C2 2nd Edition is a cheap and rugged Android Go phone
Priced at just €79, the Nokia C2 2nd Edition is about as cheap as Android devices get, but will it be powerful enough?
Cheap Android smartphones don’t always have the best reputation, but one company with much success at the budget end of the market is Nokia. And with the Nokia C2 2nd Edition, the company really doesn’t want you to spend the earth: the handset costs just €79, or around £66.
It’s aimed specifically at older customers more used to the familiar comforts of feature phones, which might explain the low cost of entry. But obviously something this cheap has to cut corners, and the internal specs are as low budget as you’d expect, with four 1.5GHz MediaTek 4xA53 cores backed by 1GB or 2GB of RAM. There’s 32GB of onboard storage, but microSD cards of up to 256GB in size are also supported if you feel like you need more.
There are two cameras: a 5MP camera on the back and a 2MP camera on the front for video calls, and both have a flash. There’s no fingerprint reader, but the phone does include face unlocking to save you typing in an unwieldy code every time. Interestingly, the 2,400mAh battery is user-replaceable, which is something that’s gone out of fashion in the last decade but is actually extremely user-friendly given batteries’ tendency to degrade over time.
Still, these specs do point to a device that could be seriously underpowered. But Nokia has some experience in making things run smoothly no matter the specs and here we’ll see Android Go used in lieu of full-fat Android. Typically aimed at low-power devices in emerging markets, Android Go should hopefully allow the Nokia C2 2nd Edition to punch a little above its weight – as should the lack of preinstalled apps.
Nokia wants this phone to last and promises “structural durability”, thanks to a tough inner metal chassis. It will also come with a guaranteed two years of security updates to keep it safe for the duration of its life.
The budget-friendly specs won’t appeal to everyone, but for those looking to move away from feature phones for the first time – or someone needing a cheap and cheerful backup for their daily driver – the Nokia C2 2nd Edition could be just the ticket when it comes to the UK.