It's 2022 and Nokia is still releasing phones. Not just any phone, it is an Android Go phone for Rs. 10,299. You read it right, an Android Go phone for that price.
Nokia C21 Plus was launched 2 weeks back in India for a price of over Rs. 10,000. But a quick look at the device makes it obvious that the phone doesn't deserve the price tag of Rs. 10,299. Not with Android Go and Unisoc SC9863A SoC.
What is Android Go?
Android Go is the lighter version of Android meant for entry-level phones at the price of around Rs. 5000. In Google's own words, "Leveling up entry-level devices."
Android Go comes with lighter versions of Android apps such as Google Go, Youtube Go, Maps Go, and Gmail Go for making it easy on resources. And with the entry-level phones, the resources are as modest as possible. Android Go hence doesn't come with extra features and options that may make the OS go heavy on the entry-level specs that the phone is coming with.
Nokia C21 Plus isn't an entry-level phone
I was talking about entry-level phones quite often in the previous section. But the Nokia C21 Plus is not an entry-level phone. It is a phone that competes with the likes of Infinix Hot 11s, Realme Narzo 50, Poco M4 and Samsung Galaxy F13. All of those phones are much superior that this phone. You'll know once you look at the features and specifications of Nokia C21 Plus.
Nokia C21 Plus: Key features and specifications
Nokia C21 Plus comes with a 6.52-inch HD+ LCD with a water drop notch.
It is powered by Unisoc SC9863A SoC, which is the same chipset used in other low-budget phones like Infinix Smart 6, Samsung Galaxy A03, Realme Narzo 50i, Gionee Max, etc. It is an entry-level chipset and cannot be compared with other chipsets in the segment such as Mediatek Helio G88, Mediatek Helio G85, Mediatek Dimensity 700 or Snapdragon 680.
It comes with a 13MP primary camera and a 2MP depth sensor. And there is a 5MP selfie camera.
The phone is backed up by a 5,050mAh battery, but there is no mention of fast charging.
Nokia C21 Plus comes with the Android 11 Go edition, not the Android 12 version of Android Go.
Nokia C21 Plus: Pricing
Nokia C21 Plus comes in two variants, a 3/32GB variant and a 4/64GB variant. The 3/32GB variant is priced at Rs. 10,299 while the 4/64GB variant is priced at Rs. 11,299.
This is 2022 and Nokia is still launching a 3/32GB variant at a price where others are launching even 6/64GB variants as a base.
Nokia should stop milking nostalgia
HMD Global has been selling Nokia-branded phones in India for some time now. While it released exciting smartphones such as Nokia 5.1 Plus and Nokia 6.1 Plus which offered great value for the money and a unique proposition, phones that came after that was average at best.
Not just Nokia C21 Plus, the phones that came before such as Nokia C21, Nokia G21, Nokia C30, Nokia C20 Plus, etc. all came with abysmal specifications for the price. Each of the phones seemed like an attempt at selling the phone just for the brand name nostalgia. Sure, Nokia was huge back in the days and it still has some brand recall among the masses. But is that enough to be a successful smartphone brand in today's cutthroat smartphone market where Redmi, Realme, Motorola and Infinix are launching competitive smartphones back to back?
In my opinion, HMD Global should take a look at its own products and compare with the others and start making exciting devices like it did when it brought back the Nokia brand. Please don't kill off the Nokia brand once again.
