Nokia and HMD Global’s first new phone probably isn’t one you’ll want

By Andy Boxall December 13, 2016

Image used with permission by copyright holder

The first new phone from Nokia and HMD Global is here. Excited? Of course you are. It’s Nokia’s true return to the mobile scene, after its wilderness years under Microsoft’s wing, and what better way to celebrate the brand’s return than with a good old feature phone. That’s right, Nokia’s back with a modern version of the type of device with which it made its name.

nokia-150 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

It’s called the Nokia 150, and it’s exactly what you’d expect a Nokia feature phone to be like. There’s an alphanumeric keypad, a little screen, a basic camera, and a fat, ordinary body. If you’ve been holding your breath for Nokia’s anticipated return to smartphones, this isn’t it. How long has it been since we saw a Nokia feature phone? It has been at least a couple of months, as Microsoft and Nokia shoved the Nokia 216 out the door in September, effectively marking the end of their relationship.

More: Everything we think we know about Nokia’s Android smartphones

However, the Nokia 150 is notable in a more positive way, due to it being the first device from Nokia and HMD Global, a partnership announced earlier this year and finalized on December 1, allowing the pair to release hardware together. If you’re interested in the Nokia 150, it has a 2.4-inch screen, an FM radio, a music player, a MicroSD card slot, a VGA camera, and a battery that will last for about a month on standby. It comes in either single SIM or dual-SIM versions, and will cost about $26. Parts of Asia, Europe, and the Middle East will see the Nokia 150 go on sale during the first few months of 2017.

If the Nokia 150’s arrival has made you want a new Nokia smartphone even more, HMD Global has said the first Android devices to wear the Nokia name will arrive in 2017, with rumors circulating they’ll be revealed during Mobile World Congress in February.

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Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…

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