HMD Global set its sights on the budget segment last year, and heading into 2018 the Finnish manufacturer is doubling down with phones targeted at all price points. The Nokia 1 is particularly interesting as it is the first Android Go device from the manufacturer, with the phone featuring Google's lightweight operating system optimized for low-powered hardware. The Nokia 1 retails for under $100, and while the hardware on offer isn't exactly groundbreaking, Android Go promises to offer a lag-free experience that doesn't make you want to throw the phone out the window. Let's find out if that is indeed the case.

Nokia 1 What you'll love

With a screen size of 4.5 inches, the Nokia 1 is tiny by today's standards. Like budget Nokias of old, the phone is constructed out of plastic, with a removable back that can be customized with Xpress-on shells. The design is vibrant, and the white border along the display contrasts very well with the colorful back covers. Verizon is offering the Pixel 4a for just $10/mo on new Unlimited lines You get two SIM card slots and a dedicated microSD slot once you pop out the battery, and there's a 3.5mm jack at the top and a microUSB port at the bottom. The power and volume buttons are located on the right, and they have decent tactile feedback. Overall, the Nokia 1 isn't the most striking phone around, but the playful design and the form factor makes it The Nokia 1 has a playful design that's customizable with removable back covers. The 854 x 480 display is reminiscent of phones from six years ago, as is the design up front. The Nokia 1 has chunky bezels at the top and bottom, and while the screen is decent overall, it is reflective and doesn't get bright enough under harsh sunlight. What's of particular interest is that the Nokia 1 comes with an ambient display, allowing you to preview incoming notifications without turning on the screen. The phone is designed primarily for usability, and in most use cases the display on the Nokia 1 is perfectly serviceable. Under the hood, the Nokia 1 is powered by a MediaTek MT6737M with four Cortex A53 cores at 1.1GHz. There's also 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage, and true to its word Android Go offers more usable storage space out of the box. There's slightly over 4GB of space available, and you have the option to extend storage via the microSD slot.

On the connectivity front, you get 4G LTE (and VoLTE), Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, and an FM radio. The Nokia 1's strong point is Android Go: Google's lightweight OS does a magnificent job of ensuring that the phone doesn't feel slow. Granted, there are times when you're browsing the web or switching between apps that you'll notice a lag, but it's thankfully not a major issue. The lightweight version of Google apps — Gmail Go, Google Go, YouTube Go, and others — also do a great job of retaining most of the features of their full-fledged counterparts while taking up a fraction of the space. The Play Store on Android Go highlights lightweight apps, including the likes of Facebook Lite, LinkedIn Lite, and Messenger Lite. Android Go does a fantastic job in terms of utilizing the hardware to its maximum potential. YouTube Go is pretty great, and the fwe videos I watched on the platform played without any hitches. The built-in speaker doesn't get very loud, but it is detailed and doesn't get distorted at full volume. The placement at the back is less than stellar though. If you don't find a Lite variant of a particular app, you can download the full-sized version and use it as you would on any Android phone. WhatsApp, in particular, works just fine on the Nokia 1. You'll even be able to install games and move the data files seamlessly to an SD card if you have one installed. For the most part, the Nokia 1 does a decent job when it comes to performance. You'll be able to play casual games like Subway Surfers without running into too many issues, but anything more taxing than that and the phone starts to struggle. Again, the main factor here is usability — the Nokia 1 gets the job done for most day-to-day tasks. Finally, the 2150mAh battery managed to offer over a day's worth of usage consistently: the low-powered hardware allows you to easily get screen-on-time in excess of six hours. Nokia 1 What you won't

The Nokia 1 has a 5MP camera at the back, and a 2MP front shooter. For what it's worth, the interface itself is identical to what you'd find on the likes of the Nokia 7 Plus, with options for panorama and a beautify mode on offer.