Nokia is breaking a lot of new ground under the tutelage of HMD Global, with the new Nokia 1 re-introducing another retro classic from the archives of Nokia - Xpress-on covers. 

Xpress-on covers hit the headlines with the Nokia 5110 in 1998, letting you change the colour of your phone in a flash, snapping on a new colour cover. Now the company is applying those to its new entry-level handset, the Nokia 1.

The new baby of the Nokia family, not only does this device bring back those Xpress-on covers, but it is also the debut of Android Go.

Android Go was announced at Google I/O 2017 as a version of Android designed to run on lower-power handsets. That's exactly what the Nokia 1 is, sitting on a 1.1GHz MediaTek chip and offering 1GB of RAM.

The aim is to bring Nokia quality and Android performance to those who can't afford a smartphone. Priced at about $85, the Nokia 1 wants to be the go-to smartphone for all those who simply cannot afford to pay any more. 

Changeable covers are just the cherry on the top of this budget cake, because Android Oreo (Go edition) gives you a cut-down version of Google's services designed to run with lower power demands and using less data. 

There's a 4.5-inch display on the front and 8GB of internal storage. One of the advantages of Android Go is it uses up much less of that storage with system files, but you can also add up to 128GB microSD cards.

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Pocket-lint

There's a 5-megapixel fixed focus camera on the back and a 2-megapixel camera on the front, while the 2150mAh battery is removable. 

Fancy features aren't what this phone is about: it's designed to give you a pure Android experience, free from clutter and secure, while offering you optimised versions of app to run on hardware that won't cost you a lot of money.

Compared to many of the devices launched at Mobile World Congress 2018 the Nokia 1 won't get much of a look-in, but for those who can't afford to spend a lot on a phone, this will keep you connected to all the latest Google services without costing the earth.

The Nokia 1 will be launching globally from April for around $85.