Microsoft continues Nokia line with $29 web-connected mobile
Microsoft has unveiled its new Nokia "entry-level" mobile granting users web connectivity for as little as $29.
The Nokia 215 resembles classic Nokia devices
The Nokia 215 will see Microsoft continue the Nokia line as a budget mobile after the branding was dropped from the computing giant's Lumia smartphones in September 2014.
Microsoft, which purchased Nokia’s phone business for $7.2bn in April 2014, will hope the device capitalises on its resemblance to classic Nokia handsets, which helped build the Finnish brand into a global powerhouse.
A Microsoft spokesperson said: “With a price tag of just $29 before taxes and subsidies, Nokia 215 is our most affordable internet-ready entry-level phone yet, perfectly suited for first-time mobile phone buyers or as a secondary phone for just about anyone.
With the Nokia 215, Microsoft will hope to outshine the performance of Mozilla's ‘Intel Cloud FX’ $33 smartphone which was launched in India last year taking advantage of the nation's booming mobile industry. According to Mozilla, to date, over 3.5 million units have been shifted, showing a demand for budget devices despite the prominence of premium smartphones.
The firm boasts that the Nokia 215 can last as long as 29 days on a single charge, a feature which could also help it shift units in the developing world. It will be launched in the EMEA markets in the first three months of 2015.
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