Microsoft takes Nokia back to its roots with €19 phone

11 Aug 2014

The Nokia 130

Microsoft is attempting to bring Nokia back to its earliest and most successful roots with the launch of the Nokia 130, a phone with buttons and month-long battery for €19.

While the sound of a battery that lasts more than 30 times longer than a current smartphone sounds appealing, the phone is most definitely designed as a no-frills basic device aimed at those in developing markets.

However, according to CNet, the phone will have some features familiar to smartphone users, including the ability to take photos and video, as well as play music stored on the handset with the help of a micro SD slot capable of storing up to 32GB.

The phone will come in single or dual SIM variants with the battery life, either way, coming officially in at 36 days and 26 days, respectively.

While online entities such as Facebook and Google attempt to bring the internet to the entire world, Microsoft is also trying to push its ultra-cheap handsets in a bid to bring mobile internet to developing markets that in most cases simply cannot afford to buy higher-end phones, such as the iPhone or HTC One.

So far, the countries scheduled to receive the first shipments of the Nokia 130 sometime this quarter include Kenya, Pakistan, Nigeria and Vietnam, with both SIM models costing the same price.

Colm Gorey was a senior journalist with Silicon Republic

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