The latest cut price phone to come out from Microsoft will cost a mere £15. That sounds great, so what’s the catch?
The problem with the Nokia 130 is that it doesn’t have a data connection, meaning that you can’t go online, download apps or do any of the other cool stuff that you really want to do. What is does allow you to do is make phone calls, send text messages, used an LED flashlight, plug in a microSD card and watch your videos.
The Nokia 130 is the firm’s latest statement of intent in the budget phone market, even though they have recently made some noises about getting rid of some of their cheaper models in order to concentrate on more expensive Windows Phones.
Not to be Sold in the UK
This phone is most likely to be seen as a starter model for youngsters or as a backup for those occasions when you don’t want to risk taking your main phone out to somewhere it might be in danger of getting ruined. In addition, the phone is going to be aimed at people in emerging markets around the world who don’t earn enough to buy an expensive smartphone. At the moment, it will be sold in Egypt, India, Pakistan and a few other countries, but not the UK.
Jo Harlow is the head of phones at Microsoft and she said that the budget phone sector is a “massive market segment”. She then pointed that the companies “distribution and supply chain scale” is very important for allowing them to compete effectively in this market. However, she confirmed that Microsoft will not be releasing any more of their Asha and Android powered mobile devices.
The device will be sold in China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Vietnam, but there are no plans to release it in the UK or the US.
Do you think this is a good move by Microsoft?
