HMD Global has launched the Nokia 2 entry-level Android smartphone in the Indian market as it looks to tap the lower end of the market. The company is touting the 4100mAh battery that delivers up to 2 days of juice and premium design with polycarbonate body and 6000 Series Aluminium frame as the highlights of the smartphone. Nokia 2 also has a 5-inch HD (720x1280px) LTPS display that HMD Global says is best-in-class, with 1:1300 contrast ratio and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. India is a very important market for the Nokia brand, the company said, and is among the top three countries globally in terms of Nokia activations since the relaunch. HMD Global said it plans to make Nokia phones available in 100,000 stores across India by the end of the year.
Nokia 2 price in India has not been revealed yet; the company only revealed that it will bear a global average price of EUR 99 (roughly Rs. 7,500), and will become available mid-November. At this price, the handset will compete against the likes of Xiaomi Redmi 4A and Moto C. With the Nokia 2, HMD Global looking to address the $100-$150 (roughly Rs. 6,500 to Rs. 9,700) segment, which the company says accounts for 17 percent volume of the global smartphone market, and over 30 percent volume of the Indian smartphone market.
In the $100-$150 segment, HMD Global cites a survey by Qualcomm and Counterpoint that finds battery life is the single most desired (97 percent of respondents) quality of a smartphone, followed by display size and quality, 4G LTE connectivity, and a good camera. The segment usually sees first-time smartphone users, looking to upgrade from their feature phones, with Qualcomm President Larry Paulson adding that 600 million users are expected to upgrade this year.
Nokia 2 specifications
The dual-SIM (Nano) Nokia 2 runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat, and sports a 5-inch HD (720x1280 pixels) LTPS In-Cell Touch display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 212 SoC (quad-core, clocked up to 1.2GHz) coupled with 1GB of LPDDR3 RAM. The smartphone sports an 8-megapixel rear autofocus camera with LED flash, and a 5-megapixel front fixed focus camera.
As for storage, the Nokia 2 comes with 8GB of inbuilt storage, which is expandable via microSD card (up to 128GB) in a hybrid dual-SIM configuration. Connectivity options on the Nokia 2 include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.1, GPS/ A-GPS, FM radio with RDS, Micro-USB, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Sensors on board include an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, digital compass, and proximity sensor. It measures 143.5x71.3x9.3mm, and is IP52-rated (for drip protection). It comes in three colour options – Pewter Black with black face and frame, Pewter White with white face, black frame, and Copper, with black face, black back, and copper frame (as seen in the image above).