US$29 Nokia 215 by Microsoft - How Microsoft's Nokia Mobile division will conquer India and Developing World Countries

“With our ultra-affordable mobile phones and digital services, we see an inspiring opportunity to connect the next billion people to the Internet for the first time”

Vice President of Microsoft Devices Group, Jo Harlow, in a press release on Monday January 5^th 2015 announcing the launch of the US$29 Nokia 215

While Samsung launched the US$90 Samsung Z1 in India and Xiaomi is still plotting to take over the world with their “Small Rice” as chronicled in my blog article entitled “Xiaomi in India after success in China - Xiaomi Looks to the West as the World is theirs for the Taking”, Microsoft's Nokia 215 might just beat them to the punch.

That's because the Nokia 215, a budget feature phone launched during CES (Computer Electronics Show) 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada is priced at US$29, making it the cheapest feature phone with smartphone capabilities on planet Earth as stated in the article “Meet the world's cheapest smartphone”, published January 5, 2015: 8:00 AM ET By Aaron Smith, CNN Money. 

So says their Press Release entitled “Meet the new Nokia 215, Microsoft’s most affordable Internet-ready phone”, published January 5, 2015 By Microsoft News Center, Microsoft that touted the Nokia 215 as the lowest cost smartphone released by the Redmond, Virginia based company.

And yes, it does look a lot like the US$20 Nokia 105 launched in April 2014 in India as noted in the article “Nokia 105: The cheapest handset launched in India”,  published April 10 2013, India Today.

From all accounts, it was a smash hit for Nokia, who were back then in a partnership with Microsoft as noted in the article “Nokia profits from sale of US$20 Nokia 105”, published 29 Jun 2013, 02:25, by Alan F., Phone Arena.

So now they're back for seconds with an upgrade that actually boasts an actual Camera and Internet connectivity, which brings the price up to US$29.

So what do you get for US$29? A lot it seems!

US$29 Nokia 215 by Microsoft - Loads of Goodies packed in a Candy Bar feature phone

You may have noticed that the US$29 Nokia 215, albeit modeled after the US$20 Nokia 105, is packed to the hilt with features as reported in the article “Microsoft's Nokia 215 Internet-Ready Phone Is Just $29”, published JANUARY 5, 2015 04:12PM EST BY CHLOE ALBANESIUS, PC World.

Running on the Nokia Series 30+ OS, whatever that is, and supporting the 900/1800 MHz bands, the US$29 Nokia 215 comes in one of two (2) versions based on SIM (Subscriber Identification Module):

1.      Nokia 215 Single SIM

2.      Nokia 215 Dual SIM

The screen is a 2.4" QVGA, a step above older Nokia feature phone but still way below the standard to be even considered a budget smartphone. It's little and cute with svelte significant numbers of 116mm x 50mm x 12.9mm and weighing no more than a heavy-calorie Candybar at 78.7 grams.

Oh, yes, you have some colour choices too:

1.      Green

2.      Black

3.      White

True to its feature phone roots, it's got a handy FM Radio to keep you up to date with Cricket Matches and a flashlight for finding thing when the government decides to shut off the power. Should in case you find that there's nothing on the radio, you can surf the web using a built in Opera Mini Browser and Bing Search.

Want to know the weather?

MNS Weather has you covered and interestingly too, it's also got Social Media baked in i.e. Facebook and Twitter. However, if you can load MP3 via the USB Cable that comes with the phone unto the 32 GB MicroSD Card that it supports, then you can skip the Internet and the Radio altogether and just jam on your headphones plugged into its 3.5mm AV Port!

Like I said, a feature phone with some smartphone like features. But then it's got a little more that should make it a tad interesting to Developed World peeps, no matter how sophisticated your taste in smartphones!

Despite the basic 3G Internet and the VGA Rear-Facing Camera, it's option to be Dual-SIM would be much beloved by Americans - if it were in their country - as aside from being no-contract, you're freed from being locked into one Network. Two (2) Networks to choose from, with Battery life to match that of a regular feature phone:

1.      29 Days Standby on a full charge for the Nokia 215 Single SIM

2.      21 Days Standby on a full charge for the Nokia 215 Dual SIM

3.      20 hours Talk Time on BOTH the Nokia 215 Single SIM and the Nokia 215 Dual SIM

Then there is the presence of Bluetooth 3.0, not quite Bluetooth 4.0 but still an advanced feature typically found on smartphones.

This means, quite simply, if you just happen to have a Bluetooth speaker such as the US$250 Mars by Crazybaby Levitating Bluetooth Speaker as described in my MICO Wars blog article entitled “Mars by Crazybaby Levitating Bluetooth Speaker Levitation Produces good vibration free sound” or even a US$100 Samsung Level Bluetooth Speaker as described in my Geezam blog article entitled “How Samsung's Top 7 Christmas Gift List can make Christmas Unforgettable”, then you can stream your MP3 and have a party virtually anywhere.

Even more interesting is the proprietary SLAM Technology that allows you to share those very same MP3 files (or any file for that matter) by just simply tapping two (2)  Nokia 215 together. This, again, is a lot like a NFC or Bluetooth sharing in higher-end and even Budget smartphones.

Sweet, you say to yourself! So it's not to far below a budget smartphone, you think to yourself after struggling to read the above sentences. When is this coming to America, you ask? Alas, the answer isn't as easy as it sounds!

US$29 Nokia 215 launched in Developing World Countries - How Microsoft's Nokia Mobile division will conquer India

For Americans wanting this US$29 phone, I’m sorry, but this isn't for you.

 It's for the Developing World peeps in these following Territories in the First Quarter of 2015 who can't afford an Apple iPhone or are restricted from owning one:

1.      Middle East

2.      Africa

3.      Asia

4.      Europe

So why those territories and no Developed World Countries like USA, Canada and England!????

For the Middle East read Qatar and Saudi Arabia, where the restrictive caveats of their Telecoms Regulators don't permit high powered smartphones with IM (Instant Messaging) services that uses hard encryption.

Terrorists love those.

Asia is really India, China and the Far East, as these markets are still growing despite rumours of a slowdown in the Chinese market! China has similar restrictions like the Islamic States, thus making them a market still not yet fully exploited.

India, though, is a Greenfield that's so lucrative, that Huawei, Xiaomi and now Samsung are eagerly launch new smartphones in that region alone this 2015 as reported in my blog article entitled “Xiaomi in India after success in China - Xiaomi Looks to the West as the World is theirs for the Taking”,

Already Samsung has launched the Tizen OS based US$90 Samsung Z1 as stated in my blog article entitled “US$90 Samsung Z1 Launches in India - Xiaomi Redmi and Google Android One competition with Tizen OS and Samsung Galaxy S5 stylings”. 

Microsoft has truly made a calculated gamble in buying Nokia Mobile for soem US$7.2 billion dollars as reported in the article “Microsoft closes Nokia deal, pays more than expected”, published 25 April 2014 12:07 pm BST by Rich Trenholm, CNET News.

With signs of a turnaround now in the air based on the net profit of €443 million (roughly $505 million, £330 million, or AU$637 million) in 2014 as reported in the article “Nokia makes strong profit in year of 'first steps' after Microsoft sale”, published January 29, 2015 3:10 AM PST by Claire Reilly and Rich Trenholm, CNET News.

This strategy will help Microsoft's Nokia Mobile division will conquer Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's Home country of India in 2015, the Year of the Sheep!

Here’s the link:

Nokia 215