Microsoft announced Nokia 130 feature phone with impressive functions as a sign of its continued efforts to patch low-income consumers with a mobile phone.
Microsoft is not letting go the feature phone business jsut yet,as the world's largest software company announced the Nokia 130, latest in the cheap mobile phone range to attract low-income consumers. The tech world may be going crazy over smartphones with higher resolutions, better camera, faster processor, fitness reading capabilities and what not. But Microsoft is taking a clever approach in patching up the less-income consumers with an ultra-affordable mobile phones.
The all-new Nokia 130 may not be a smartphone but it is unjust to call it a dumb phone. It fulfills the basic needs of a phone, like making calls or exchanging text messages. But Microsoft throws a few add-ons to make the Nokia 130 a little more attractive and useful. The new handset mainly targets emerging markets where smartphones make an expensive deal and serves the purpose in developed countries as a secondary phone, Re/Code reports.
"As demand in the affordable mobile segment continues to grow, Microsoft remains committed to delivering market-leading mobile innovation at each and every price point," Jo Harlow, corporate vice president for Phones at Microsoft Corp., said in a press release on Monday. "It is estimated that at least 1 billion people in the world still do not have a mobile phone, while at the same time there is increasing demand for reliable backup phones in both mature and high-growth markets."
As for the Nokia 130's specifications, the ultra-affordable handset features a tiny 1.8-inch color display, a built in video player, MP3 player and FM Radio. Support for an SD card up to 32GB in Nokia 130 enables users to play movies and listen to songs for hours together. It also features sharing options via SD card, USB and Bluetooth. The battery is 1020mAh, which is less than half the battery size found in smartphones but lasts more than double the smartphone life. The basic color display and minimal features allows the Nokia 130 to last 46 hours on audio playback or 16 hours on video playback or 13 hours on talk time.
Microsoft hits the nail when it comes to the pricing of this new model. The Nokia 130, available in red, black and white colors, can be purchased for just $25 or 19 Euros. Buyers can choose from single SIM or dual SIM options when it will be available in select markets, including China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Vietnam, the company said.
