If you are a 90’s person, you would probably remember the word ” feature phone”. Even though some people know that word, but they might forget it because these days, we’ve got used to words like “smart phone”, “flagship” etc. Well, to make sure that you won’t forget that word, tech giant Microsoft announced a feature phone by Nokia – Nokia 230 and there is a dual SIM variant of the same model- called as 230dual. This model is a successor of 130 which came out last year.

If you remember, Nokia, is the company which made feature phones with amazing quality back then. Models liks 1100 are working even today without any issues and giving awesome battery backup. Yeah, correct, but does that mean do we need feature phones in 21st century where we are heading towards advanced smartphones with great features?

Well, the answer to this question is two fold. One, every person is different with different taste. Some people might think smartphones will be smart but won’t let them to be smart. Or some people don’t want to spend more money on a phone more than a couple of thousands and just expect to do basic communication and internet facility if needed. Category of those people would be less, but they definitely want a feature phone.

Second, even though you own a smart phone, you want a feature phone because there is a perfect feature phone but there is no perfect smart phone. Probably Your smartphone is really big in size which you cannot carry all the time or your smartphone battery drains quickly or your smartphone won’t grasp mobile signals as good as a feature phone or it got broken or software stopped working. If you are facing these problems, then you need a feature phone as a secondary device to back you up.

Specifications of Nokia 230

Even though this is a feature phone, microsoft launched it with couple of nice features.

• 230 has a typical feature phone from nokia with aluminium back (which is available in two colors: silver and dark silver for both variants) cover which made this device look stylish and nice. It has a 2.8 inch 240 x 320 QVGA display and dimensions are 124.6×53.3×10.9mm. 230 weighs just 91.8 grams in hand.
• 230 runs series 30 + operating system and comes with 16MB of RAM and storage which can be expandable up to 32 GB using SD Card. It also has MP3 player using which you can listen to your favorite songs from your SD Card.
• 230 has a 1200 mAh battery inside with 23 hours of talktime, up to 27 days of standby time for single SIM variant and 22 days of standby time for dual variant.
• Coming to camera, 230 has 2MP sensors with LED flash on both front and back. You can expect great quality from these cameras giving you very nice shots. As claimed by the company, taking selfie is very easy using this device.
• Even though this isn’t a smartphone, 230 comes with preloaded Facebook, Twitter, Opera Mini, bing search and GroupMe by Skype. You can share photos to these services from your device.
• Coming to connectivity, this is a 2G enabled device and has support for Bluetooth v3.0, Micro-USB and 3.5mm audio jack. It also has FM radio so that you can tune on when feeling bored.

Final Thoughts

This is not an Apple or Samsung device with high-end specs and no one would expect it to be. The target audience of this device aren’t those who want big size screens to enjoy playing games with touch controls and watch HD videos. This is a well built feature phone which does basic things that a mobile phone ought to be doing.
This device is expected to be priced at $55 and will be available in India, Asia and Middle East starting this December. Even though this is a feature phone, it almost does what a smart phone could do. It has both front and rear cams with LED flash, great battery backup, premium design and pre-installed social apps.

If you are expecting this much from a phone, you can surely buy this device.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrZs6hJ-1b4

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