Microsoft continues its trend of bringing more affordable and budget-friendly models to the market while shying away from Nokia’s flagship handsets by introducing the Nokia 215.
It is advertised as the cheapest internet-connected phone from Microsoft that also runs apps like Facebook, Messenger, Twitter, Bing Search, MSN Weather, Opera Mini, and more. This is a significant improvement over the $25 Nokia 130, which was another low-end feature phone that had no internet access.
“Nokia 215 is our first entry-level phone to come with Facebook and Messenger with instant notifications, giving people more options to connect with friends and family,” noted Microsoft in a statement.
The phone is priced at $29 and mainly focuses on the growing markets in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia later this year. It will also be available in Europe soon. Microsoft appears confident in the demand for budget-friendly phones, even though they have fewer features.
The Nokia 215’s screen is a 2.4 inch QVGA LCD display at 320 by 240 pixels, 8MB of RAM, Bluetooth 3.0, and it has an embedded front-facing camera with a 0.3 megapixel resolution. It is also enhanced with MP3 and FM radio support and can be paired with a Bluetooth handset or speaker. It uses a Series 30+ operating system and the phone has a standby time of up to 29 days and 20 hours of talk time.
This phone is built to value durability over hi-tech features and would prove useful in places that suffer through electricity shortages. The built-in apps work only on a 2G connection and would be convenient to use for remote places or difficult terrains. It can also handle up to 32GB worth of content thanks to the microSD slot’s expandable memory.
Microsoft announced the Nokia 215 as its “most affordable internet-ready entry-level phone yet”, saying that it would be “perfectly suited for first-time mobile phone buyers or as a secondary phone for just about anyone”.