Nokia 5.1 Plus goes on sale in the U.S. exclusively through B&H

by Cosmin Vasile / Feb 17, 2019, 6:20 AM

Nokia 5.1 Plus goes on sale in the U.S. exclusively through B&H

We're one week away from Nokia's February 24 big reveal, but if you're not looking to buy a flagship smartphone and you live in the United States, there are plenty of options to choose from.

Starting today, Nokia's smartphones offering has just got bigger with another mid-range device, the Nokia 5.1 Plus. We told you last week that the Nokia 5.1 Plus will be available in the U.S. exclusively through B&H, and it looks like you can now purchase the phone.

As expected, the Nokia 5.1 Plus is available for just $200, a good price for what the phone has to offer. Although it comes with Android 8.0 Oreo on board, an update to Android 9 Pie is already available for download.

Now, there's one important thing that you should be aware of before you decide whether or not to buy one. The Nokia 5.1 Plus comes with dual-SIM support, but it's only compatible with GSM carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile.

Apparently, B&H is selling the Latin American variant, which is compatible with U.S. LTE networks, so that's another plus. As far as the specs go, the Nokia 5.1 Plus boasts a large 5.8-inch HD display, a dual camera setup (13MP+5MP), a secondary 8-megapixel selfie camera, 3GB RAM and 32GB storage.

Options

16 Comments

1. meanestgenius

Posts: 21485; Member since: May 28, 2014

Not bad at all, as far as midrange smartphones go. HMD has some of the best midrange smartphones on the market with their Nokia branded smartphones. Some good bang for your buck smartphones, similar to those offered by one of my top 3 favorite smartphone OEM's, Xiaomi. And HMD is better than most with the updates, full OS and security wise.

posted on Feb 17, 2019, 6:46 AM 2

2. b2386

Posts: 7; Member since: Jun 07, 2018

Looked like a decent phone until I saw the chipset. No way I'd pay $200 for a phone with a MediaTek in it.

posted on Feb 17, 2019, 11:55 AM 2

3. yalokiy

Posts: 903; Member since: Aug 01, 2016

Chipset brand is not the best way to judge it.

posted on Feb 17, 2019, 3:24 PM 0

5. Venom

Posts: 3143; Member since: Dec 14, 2017

True, but I can't really justify Mediatek.

posted on Feb 17, 2019, 3:46 PM 0

6. meanestgenius

I agree. I've seen videos on YouTube for Umidigi smartphones using the same exact chipset that have been running great.

posted on Feb 17, 2019, 6:13 PM 0

4. Venom

Mediatek, 3gb of RAM, and 32GB of storage, I agree. If it had been 4/64GB I probably would have been a little more lenient with the Mediatek processor. Probably better off with the 6.1. At least it has a Snapdragon processor.

posted on Feb 17, 2019, 3:45 PM 0

7. meanestgenius

There are videos on YouTube of smartphones using the same chipset as the 5.1 Plus, and they have been performing very well. The storage options won't affect the performance of a this midrange stock Android smartphone compared to other midrange stock Android smartphones of the same storage configurations.

posted on Feb 17, 2019, 6:16 PM 0

8. mootu

Posts: 1421; Member since: Mar 16, 2017

The problem they have in the UK is that it's up against things like the Honor Play which comes with the Kirin 970, 4GB of RAM, 64GB storage, 6.3 inch screen etc all for roughly the same price.

posted on Feb 18, 2019, 2:14 AM 0

9. meanestgenius

The Nokia 8.1 is in the U.K. with the same specs (except SoC, which is the SD710) to compete against the Honor Play.

posted on Feb 18, 2019, 4:31 AM 0

11. Venom

Wrong. 32GB generally has ~ 12gb set back for the OS, which usually leaves barely enough for apps. Performance does take a hit when you are close to running out of storage. Just because you are ok with just 3/32 doesn't mean everyone else is. And no, SD cards aren't always an optimum solution for obvious reasons.

posted on Feb 19, 2019, 3:16 AM 0

12. meanestgenius

Wrong. The phone will still perform well thanks to the SoC. Apps can be moved to the SD card if extra storage is needed. This SoC is more powerful than the SD636, so performance won't take a hit. Just because you aren't ok with 3/32, doesn't mean everyone else isn't ok with it. SD cards have come a long way, that's a fact.

posted on Feb 19, 2019, 7:35 AM 0

13. Venom

Not all apps can be moved to the SD card, which btw isn't always reliable. I never said anything about people not being ok with 3/32 so stop trying to put words in my mouth or force your opinions onto others.

posted on Feb 19, 2019, 4:25 PM 0

15. meanestgenius

Most, if not all apps can be moved to an SD card, and current SD cards are reliable enough for this task. And you said that just because I'm (meaning me) ok with 3/32 storage doesn't mean everyone else is, so you did imply that. Lean to articulate properly, and stop trying to force your opinions onto others as if they are facts.

posted on Feb 19, 2019, 4:34 PM 0

10. yalokiy

Well, about RAM I can agree, but Mediatek SoC P60 from nokia 5.1 plus is actually ahead of SD636 from nokia 6.1 plus by 30%. I would still get 6.1 plus, because of more RAM and higher resolution screen.

posted on Feb 18, 2019, 7:21 AM 0

14. Venom

I think I'll grab the 7.1 since it's the only other option available in the US. I would consider the 6.1 Plus, but it's not likely to be released in the US.

posted on Feb 19, 2019, 4:27 PM 0

16. meanestgenius

The 7.1 Plus is also a great option, and is better than the Nokia 6.1. I own one, and it's more powerful with a better camera and better battery life.