Top 3 Nokia Feature Phones: Nokia 150, 216, 3310

Nokia, once a household name especially in developing nations like India, is once again trying to recapture market and although the world is moving forward with feature-laden smartphones, budget feature phones still remain a popular choice for a major chunk of phone users in parts of the world.

Feature phones are mainly used as secondary phones by college students to working professionals, especially those who travel a lot as well as people residing in rural areas who find it easier to use as compared to smartphones.

Even though the feature phone market isn’t going to grow, but it certainly isn’t dying yet given that these budget devices still remain a popular choice and are tipped to receive 4G connectivity soon.

Once the undisputed king of the mobile world, HMD-licensed Nokia has released an array of devices — both smartphones and feature phones — in a bid to restore its name and reclaim as much market share as possible.

If you’re looking for a secondary device to compensate for your smartphone when it’s charging or maybe you when you hit the gym and need a stronger Nokia to support your music needs while you pump some iron, and much more.

Here we list out the top 3 recently launched Nokia devices which will serve your basic needs for cheap.

Nokia 150

The Nokia 150 was announced in December 2016 and has been recently launched in the Indian market, costing a little North of Rs.2000.

Available on Amazon, Flipkart and other e-commerce sites, the Nokia 150 is designed using a polycarbonate shell that can take anything life throws at it, including you throwing the phone at a wall or in worst cases at someone.

The company also claims that the colour on the body of Nokia 150 is scratch resistant, which means that your device won’t lose its colour even when clawed upon on or dragged.

Add to all this a rear VGA camera with flash — that doubles up as a torch when needed –, Bluetooth connectivity to share media files and a 32GB expandable microSD slot with MP3 and FM Radio support.

Needless to say, like the others on this list, the Nokia 150 boasts of an extremely durable design and battery life with a standby of 31 days, talk time of 22 hours and music playback time of 40 hours.

Nokia 216

Nokia 216 is a relatively older device when compared to the other two on this list. It was launched in October 2016 and commands a slightly higher price than the Nokia 150 at Rs.2500 on Amazon.

In addition to the features present on the Nokia 150, this device also boasts of a front facing VGA camera with flash and the ability to record videos at 15fps, 240p resolution and playback/stream videos too.

The device’s Bluetooth has A2DP tech, which allows users to pair Bluetooth-enabled headphones or speakers.

Both, Nokia 216 and Nokia 150 have a dual-sim support and a dedicated microSD slot. The device also comes pre-loaded with Opera Mini browser and works on a 2G network.

Both the Nokia 216 and Nokia 150 are powered by the same 1020mAh batteries and boast almost the same hours of backup.

Nokia 3310

One of the most iconic comebacks in the history of the mobile phone industry was made this year at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona when HMD unveiled the reprised version of the Nokia 3310.

To everyone’s surprise, there was more fanfare surrounding this new feature phone than even the new smartphone devices by respected brands announced at the event.

Apart from the nostalgic value this fine piece of feature phone commands, it scores on the refreshed and robust design, a modest 2MP camera with LED flash and all the aforementioned features on Nokia 150 and 216.

The device is still to be launched in the Indian market, but its European variant comes for a price of €49 — approximately Rs.3500.

Although pricing seems to be a big factor when comparing devices in the feature phone segment, in all probability, HMD will be releasing the devices at a lower price — say somewhere between Rs.2500-3000 — to suit the needs of customers in developing countries from the Indian sub-continent and Latin America.

The Nokia 3310 receives a slightly bigger 1200mAh battery which boasts of 51 hours of music playback. All of these three devices run  Nokia Series 30+ operating system and have micro USB and 3.5mm jack connectivity.

Why Buy a Nokia Feature Phone?

Well, Nokia has always been known for its sturdy phone design which could withstand a falls with ease, buying a Nokia branded feature phone will grant you peace of mind that you’ll always be connected to the world in one way even if your smartphone’s battery dies or you accidentally break its fragile screen.

Not only the robust design, but the battery life that these devices claim can not be surpassed by smartphones with four-size the battery power as on these devices — giving travellers a useful backup device.

Undoubtedly, a feature phone can not replace your smartphone in totality. The camera on these phones is just there for the sake of it, but basic phone functions such as calling, messaging and entertaining yourself with music are available on these devices for a cheap price — making them a value-for-money secondary device.

If you’re a fitness enthusiast, a Nokia 216 or 3310 will make sense as these can connect your Bluetooth headsets and help stay fairly connected to the world while not worrying about breaking your costly smartphone’s glass screen.

In short, feature phones are of great value considering they don’t cost a lot and they give you basic connectivity, basic entertainment as well as peace of mind that you have a backup in case your smartphone conks out.