The festive season is seeing an array of new smartphones being launched in the Indian market. Following this trend, HMD Global has launched the new Nokia C3 this month.
The Nokia C3 is a budget smartphone that comes in a simplified package and specifications that make it a great entry-level phone. The phone is priced below the Rs 10,000 mark at an affordable Rs 7,499. As an ode to the nostalgic simplicity of Nokia, the design of the Nokia C3 has a plastic shell that easily comes off to reveal a removable battery, and slots for sim cards, in stark contrast to other phones that dominate the market today. Supporting nano sim cards and a microSD memory card, the phone has a thickness 8.69 mm, weighs 184.6 g and comes in colours of Sand and Nordic Blue.
The Nokia C3 features a minimalistic rear camera setup and a fingerprint sensor attached to its back. The phone has a 5.99-inch HD+ IPS display in a toughened glass exterior. It has old-fashioned edges which bear a stark contrast to the modern designs of most of its newer competitors.
The smartphone has a Unisoc SC9863A octa-core SoC processor which has a running frequency of 1.6GHz. The processor falls in the mid-range productivity and speed of its class. Featuring basic Wi Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, and FM Radio, the phone comes with an inbuilt GPS locator and supports 4G LTE. While it has the basic sensors, it lacks a compass and gyroscope which makes the running of direction and navigation apps difficult.
The Nokia C3 has an Android 10 operating system which comes with basic apps and a useful google assistant. The user experience is not exactly smooth for those who multitasks with their phones. While the Android 10 operating system is a decent one, there are better operating systems in the market that offer a better user experience. The fingerprint sensor works well, but the screen experiences some lag in wake up and functionality which can irritate those who are used to phones with faster response speeds. The Nokia C3 is also not a good phone for gamers as the phone fails to support heavy duty games and lacks a good gaming time. One of the reasons behind this is the ordinary 3040 mAh cell which does not promise long battery life and decreases the screen power time at full activity to just above 7 hours, falling far below what competitors of Nokia in the segment promise. The phone is fine for light to medium use but not for heavy usage.
While the screen is fine for playing videos, it lacks in quality when it comes to displaying good game graphics.
The phone houses an unremarkable 8-megapixel camera in the rear and 5-megapixel front camera. While the camera features an auto HDR function, it does not have a portrait mode and also performs badly in low light.
Overall, the Nokia C3 is a good option for those seeking a functional and basic phone for everyday use. But those looking for a multitasking and high-performance phone in the Nokia C3 will be disappointed.
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