Compare and Recycle
11/10/2023

The Nokia 210 – The Latest Nokia Dumbphone and Why It Matters?

We are lucky here in the UK, fast and reliable Wi-Fi that enable smartphone users walk from one side of a major metropolitan hub like London or Paris, to the other side, without losing signal.

Then there are places that don’t have as dependable connectivity and Nokia created this handset for those markets. Because it should be noted, clearly, that the Nokia 210 (not to be confused with the Nokia Asha 210) is a handset designed for myriad of purposes. It is a phone that bridges the peak between dumb phone and smartphone to be crude we could call it a semi-dumbphone (but we don’t think that’ll catch on!).

The handset from Nokia could easily be utilised by a handset owner in Nigeria, Nicaragua, or Bangladesh with ease. It is an Opera-powered web accessible handset (the web browser company that is ‘famous’ for its mini browser technology – i.e. easy on the RAM allowing a lighter browsing experience whilst making the web more accessible).

The Nokia 210 therefore can help provide accessible internet that reduces data usage which in territories with higher data charges (outside US, EU etc.) most importantly it could help make the internet a more viable daily experience.

Why Should We Care About The Nokia 210?

The handset whilst bridging the dumbphone – smartphone experience also manages to bridge the developing market and developed market experience by creating a handset that a growing body of smartphone users in developed countries could utilise – from older handset users to industrial smartphone users. The Nokia 210 provides potential users with a range of possibilities.

The specs for the handset aren’t great but that isn’t the purpose the handset. The Nokia 210 allows for a simpler phone experience by utilising a traditional candy bar handset design. The handset is available in charcoal, red or grey. It is powered by Nokia’s proprietary S30+ operating system. There’s no Qualcomm or even worries about storage really with this handset. You have an FM radio, internal storage of 16MB (yes, megabytes not gigabytes) but the battery lasts up to 20 days on standby with 18 hours of talk time. The handset has dedicated Facebook and Opera buttons and a VGA rear camera that can provide users with simplistic camera functionality.

This handset isn’t about “retro” dumbphone experiences. This is a global handset for a diverse global community of phone users – from England to Ethiopia – who could utilise the key functions of this phone without complaint. It provides function in an age of excess for a global smartphone market that sometimes needs simplicity.

Andrew Marchant

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