Affordable Nokia smartphones hit U.S. stores: introducing Nokia C300 and Nokia C110

HMD Global, the company behind today’s Nokia phones, has announced the launch of two new Nokia smartphones on the U.S. market: the Nokia C110 and the Nokia C300. Both phones come at an impressively low price and while that can be advantageous in many cases, in some situations it can also be seen as a downside.

The Nokia C300 and Nokia C110 phones will soon be available for purchase at Walmart, Best Buy, Target, and various pre-paid carriers, but after taking a closer look at them, they may not be the best choice even for a low-budget phone, especially given the alternatives in our list of best phones under $200.

Nokia C300 now available at Walmart

Snatch Nokia's great deal of a phone available unlocked at Walmart featuring a big display and a tiny price.

$139 ⁹⁹

Buy at Walmart

Nokia C300 now available at BestBuy

The brand new C300 is also sold at BestBuy for the same small price.

$139 ⁹⁹

Buy at BestBuy

Nokia C110 now at Walmart via Consumer Cellular

Grab Nokia's new entry-level smartphone now at Walmart with a Consumer Cellular activation

$79 ⁸⁸

Buy at Walmart

The Nokia C110 is offered in Grey with a starting price of $99, while the Nokia C300 is slightly more expensive, and the reasons will be explained below. The latter is listed with a price starting at $139. With these prices, the Nokia C110 and Nokia C300 are two of the cheapest phones manufactured by a well-known company available at this moment.

The Nokia C-series phones follow the design line of the rest of Nokia phones, which in the last years are all in the low to medium price range. The Nokia C110 and C300 come with HD+ LCDs and support only 4G networks, which is somewhat expected in their price range but also a bit disappointing in 2023 with the 5G network stepping up everywhere. They share similar specifications, with a few exceptions mentioned below.

The Nokia C300 boasts a slightly larger 6.52" display compared to the 6.3" display of the C110 model, seemingly being the only difference in terms of display specifications. Battery capacities are just okay: the Nokia C110 is equipped with a 3,000 mAh battery, which may last only a day, while the Nokia C300 features a 4,000 mAh battery expected to last up to two days. Of course, the battery life depends on the usage patterns and activities performed on the phone.

In terms of camera capabilities, the new Nokia C300 comes with a triple camera featuring a 13 MP Main AF + 2 MP Depth + 2 MP Macro cameras, along with an LED flash. Meanwhile, the Nokia C110 offers just a single 13 MP AF camera with an LED flash. Both options are probably sufficient if you simply wish to capture a moment without expecting much more than just that.

Another noteworthy difference and actually yet another downside is the hardware platform upon which each phone is built. The Nokia C300 utilizes the Snapdragon 662 Mobile Platform from 2020, while the Nokia C110 employs the MediaTek Helio P22 chipset… from 2018. Both chipsets used in the phones are quite old and outdated.

Apart from the variations above, both the Nokia C300 and Nokia C110 share the same specifications. For starters, both phones come with the Android 12 operating system, which is quite disappointing considering the fact that Android 14 is already coming out in just 3 months. They also have just a 3GB of RAM which is just not acceptable in 2023. Other identical specifications include 32 GB of internal storage and Bluetooth 5.0

If you have a budget of around $100, you may consider purchasing one of the two Nokia phones, but we advise you to consider other options. Maybe look for something a bit more expensive in the $200 price range or why not buy a second-hand or refurbished phone?