Johannesburg - Nokia is making a comeback in the form of an unexpected ‘dumb phone’ – no touchscreen, no video recorder, no selfie camera or internet access.
The iconic Finnish cell phone brand was acquired by HMD, the new “Home of Nokia Phones”, and looks to rely on nostalgia to win market share.
On Tuesday, HMD announced the release of the Nokia 150 and Nokia 150 Dual SIM, which are expected to feature at a price of around $26 (R355), with a familiar Symbian interface reminiscent of the Nokia devices of the 00’s.
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“The new phones – the first Nokia feature phones to be released by HMD – combine beautiful craftsmanship with hallmark Nokia durability,” HMD said in a statement.
“Featuring hard-wearing polycarbonate shells and scratch-resistant color, the Nokia 150 phones are built to last,” they went further to say.
The cheap device features a 2.4 inch screen with a built in FM radio, MP3 player and games.
The display has a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels, and what has been hard to say features in a smartphone for decades – “65K colors”.
READ: Nokia’s revival relies on dumb phones and love
Fortunately, the device does have one 3 megapixel camera with LED flash and Bluetooth, in an age where smartphones feature 2 or 3 cameras with dual tone flash and Near Field Communication for sharing.
The device features a 1020 mAh battery. While only the third of the size of a standard smartphone battery - with lower specifications on the device - battery endurance is boasted at 744 hours on standby.
At a time where bigger smartphones with larger displays are the trend, devices like the 150 make a perfect secondary device if you don’t need to send emails or browse the internet.
Essentially, the 150 is good for making and receiving calls – sending and receiving texts and a camera in case of emergencies.
The 150 is expected to be released early in 2017.
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