HMD Global Starts Manufacturing in Europe with the ‘Made in Hungary’ Nokia XR21

Re:HMD Global Starts Manufacturing in Europe with the ‘Made ... by hocuspocus on Tuesday October 03, 2023 @09:15AM (#37751408)

Sadly after a good start and several models running Android One, I feel the current Nokia HMD lineup is a bit underwhelming.

Nowadays Samsung obliterates the competition in the 200~400€ price range, at least in dimensions that matter to me: display quality, decent camera and battery life, 4/5 years of security updates.

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Re:HMD Global Starts Manufacturing in Europe with the ‘Made ... by FirmwareBurner on Tuesday October 03, 2023 @09:55AM (#37751997)

>Nowadays Samsung obliterates the competition in the 200~400€ price range, at least in dimensions that matter to me: display quality, decent camera and battery life, 4/5 years of security updates.

This. The A-series like A34 and A54 are simply unbeatable in Europe for those price ranges and budgets most consumers have set for phones. Almost nobody I personally know spends €1000+ Euros on an iPhone or Samsung S/Ultra series when that's 1-2 months rent, but granted I don't live in ultra wealthy Norway or Switzerland.

Here's a well kept secret, if you want a modern 5G phone with removable battery, water and dust resistance, headphone jack, micro-SD card, PTT, extra loud speakers, then get the Samsung Galaxy Xcover 6 Pro. It's crazy how unknown this phone is yet ticks almost all the right boxes most Android users are screaming for.

All these series seem to be virtually unknown in the US though, probably to not cannibalize their much more expensive S/Ultra series in the wealthy market that is the US where nobody bats an eye at ~$1000+ phones.

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Re:HMD Global Starts Manufacturing in Europe with the ‘Made ... by kspacewalk2 on Tuesday October 03, 2023 @10:11AM (#37752248)

I'm firmly in the mid-range segment of the market, and made some good and some not so good choices over the years (including a Nokia with Android One for my mom, which was not a good choice because of the many hardware issues). The A52 I currently use has been hands down the best one, closely followed by a Pixel 4A for my wife. I don't love the whole One UI thing, and would prefer Android One or whatever the stock Android is called these days, but it's just a polished product, in terms of hardware, software and security updates.

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Re:HMD Global Starts Manufacturing in Europe with the ‘Made ... by hocuspocus on Tuesday October 03, 2023 @10:29AM (#37752463)

I made my dad buy a Pixel 7a on sale at €290 but that was fairly exceptional, I haven't seen it this cheap again.

Get a Galaxy A5x has been my go-to recommendation otherwise.

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Re:HMD Global Starts Manufacturing in Europe with the ‘Made ... by FirmwareBurner on Tuesday October 03, 2023 @12:22PM (#37753991)

Where was a Pixel 7a on sale at such a steep discount? In my area, the cheapest it ever was recorded was 460 Euros.

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Re:HMD Global Starts Manufacturing in Europe with the ‘Made ... by Abby0 on Wednesday October 04, 2023 @04:40AM (#37762504)

I dont know if the pixel he was referencing is new or refurbished but I'd keep an eye on Swappa/BackMarket, if you're in the EU and looking to buy a used relatively new phone for a cheap price.

I would also appreciate an answer to the same question FirmwareBurner has asked.

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