New basic Nokia phone appeals to students

The phone costs just £13 and has a battery that last 35 days but there will be no Twitter.

Ryan Rocastle

Nokia has launched a new mobile phone that needs charging less than once a month and costs just £13 to buy.

The Nokia 105 is a basic text-and-call phone aimed at mobile markets in the developing world where electricity sources may be scarce or unreliable. However the cheap price and reliability is likely to appeal to students.

The 105, which is to go on sale in the next few weeks, comes with a full-colour screen, torch and FM radio, and allows you to do the basics such as calls and texts.  Yet, be warned, this is not a phone where you will be able to update your Twitter or upload Instagram photos.  

The key feature of the new Nokia is its incredible battery life which, according to the Finnish company’s press spokesman Pekka Haverinen, is around 35 days on a single charge.

Has the backing of students

The new phone seems to appeal to many students. We posed the question on The River Facebook page whether students would buy this device in an era of smartphone domination and the answers were positive.

Katie O’Connor said: “Yeah, definitely. I’m far past bothering about upgrading my phone anymore. I use an old phone instead. I’d far rather have a phone that was cost efficient than a phone that will instantly become uncool when its upgrade comes out.”

Alistair Charlton liked the reliability of the phone saying: “It’d be perfect for festivals when you want a phone with good battery that you don’t mind losing/breaking.”

While another added: “Dream phone, where do I get one?

Fed up with smartphones

Many smart phone users seem to have grown tired of complex apps and functions causing crashes and having to be constantly reset.

As a result, an increasing number of smart phone users are opting to carry cheap and technologically basic ‘back-up phones’.

These simple devices can be better relied on not to crash in an emergency, and their relative lack of features means battery life is usually days not hours.

Give us more feedback on the phone on our Twitter page @rivernewspaper.