Nokia N1 review – too good for the UK?

Camera

The only mildly disappointing part of the N1 is its rear 8-megapixel camera. For starters, it only has the very basic Google Camera app to take pictures with, so it’s rather short on additional modes. For instance, the only options you have are the default camera mode, panorama, photo sphere and lens blur, meaning no HDR option here. Likewise, it doesn’t have a flash, so it will struggle in low lighting conditions. Colours were still relatively bright in our indoor test shots, but they were noticeably grainy and there wasn’t a huge amount of detail on show.

This isn’t so much of a problem outdoors, but there’s still obvious signs of noise in large, plain areas of colour, such as dark storm clouds. Colours were also a fraction dingy for my liking, but there was still a decent level of detail present and the sky was well exposed despite the overcast weather conditions.

^ Colours were generally accurate and the sky was well exposed, but shadow areas were rather gloomy

^ Indoors, noise is present throughout, making it hard to pick out areas of fine detail

Conclusion – a grey area

The main problem with the Nokia N1 is trying to get hold of it. While my review sample was provided by Colourful Tech, a new company set up with the specific intent to import N1s to the UK, it’s since had to cease trading for the time being due to ongoing disputes with Nokia. As a result, the main way to buy one right now is to get it via eBay, which currently has plenty of tablets on sale from very reputable sellers for around £210.

A device bought through such channels is usually called a ‘grey import’. This is when products are sold outside their intended market, raising potential tax, duties, warranties and returns problems. Many parts of the world buy most of their tech in this way, but it’s unusual for us in the UK to have to buy from such unofficial sources.

For instance, some grey import sellers don’t include an international warranty with their goods, making it difficult to fix if things go wrong, and you may get hit by VAT and duty costs on receipt if the seller hasn’t already imported the device themselves. As a result, you’ll need to do your research before you contemplate a grey import purchase, reading the seller’s terms and conditions and checking them against ratings websites such as TrustPilot.

This is a shame, as the Nokia N1 is a stunning little Android tablet that absolutely deserves a place on UK shop shelves. While it’s not as good value as the Nexus 9, which has since come down to just £200, the N1 is still an incredible tablet with exceptional build quality and battery life and a novel yet easy to use interface. It’s a much better buy than the iPad Mini 3 and is my new favourite small tablet. Only its quasi-legal status keeps it from winning a Best Buy award, though with a tablet this good I can’t help but still recommend it.