HMD Global, the company behind the Nokia smartphones and tablets has today announced that its newest budget smartphone, the Nokia C31, is available through Optus Pre-Paid.
This also marks a milestone for HMD Global, with the company stating that this offering now means Nokia devices are available across all three major phone carriers in Australia – Telstra, Optus and Vodafone. Demonstrating the brand’s commitment to make reliable and affordable phones more accessible to Australians.
Brenden Folitarik, ANZ Country Manager, HMD Global has stated that:
“Following the successful launch of our most sustainable phone to date, the Nokia X30 5G, we are pleased to continue our growth trajectory by launching the Nokia C31 in Optus stores throughout Australia. For the first time since 2017, Nokia phones will once again be ranged across the three major phone carriers in Australia – an incredible milestone for the business. Aussies will now be able to access our phones more easily, allowing them to love, trust and keep their phone today and for years to come.”
So what does the Nokia C31 offer? Let’s have a look shall we.
The Nokia C31 comes with a 6.75-inch IPS LCD display (720 x 1600 @ 261pp) that is powered by an octa-core Unisoc SC9863A (4×1.6 GHz Cortex-A55 & 4×1.2 GHz Cortex-A55), 32GB RAM of which there is 20GB available for the user, 32GB of onboard storage which can be expanded to 256GB via MicroSD card.
In terms of cameras, the Nokia C31 comes with a triple rear set up made up of 13MP main wide lens, 2MP depth sensor and 2MP macro sensor lens. The front facing which is located in a small tear drop in the front display is a 5MP lens.
In terms of Android, the Nokia C31 runs Android 12 right out of the box. 3.5mm audio jack, 802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz and WiFi Hotspot, Bluetooth version 4.2 LE and 5050mAh (non removable) battery.
HMD Global has made two puzzling choices with the Nokia C31, however. First, there are no NFC capabilities. Granted, this is a (relatively) budget handset but NFC is a near-ubiquitous feature these days and leaving it out seems fairly inexplicable. The second choice was to use a Micro USB charging slot and cable. When USB-C is the near universal choice, the use of some alternative – and dated – standard is particularly weird. Surely we’re past the point where it actually costs any more to use USB-C instead of older standards… but perhaps not.
The Nokia C31 is available via the Optus Pre-Paid website and via your local Optus Yes Store for $229.
MicroUSB makes it an instant no.
Saw this at my local Optus store-it’s the 3GB RAM variant whilst Harvey Norman sells the C31 in a 4/64GB version.
And at the moment, HN has the 4/64GB C31 for $199 which makes it cheaper than the Optus offering.