Nokia 515

While smartphones have overtaken feature phones in terms of sheer sales volume, there is still a sizable chunk of feature phone users who aren’t quite ready to make the jump to iOS, Android, Windows Phone or Blackberry.

These users have been fine so far with the kind of feature set their phones come with, but up until now, they’ve had to make do with the typical plastic build. Well, it appears that the Nokia 515 has something to say about that.

The Nokia 515 might be a feature phone at heart — with an alphanumeric keyboard at that — but it’s been crafted with materials often reserved for top-tier smartphones. The main body is made from a single piece of sandblasted aluminum while the gently-curved 2.4″ QVGA screen is protected by Gorilla Glass 2. The keypad doesn’t escape the premium treatment as it too is made from something special: hardened polycarbonate resin. The result is a sleek phone that’s only 11mm thick and can easily be mistaken as an understated fashion accessory.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhVHgdZyFTw

While the choice of materials is certainly refreshing, the Nokia 515 is still a feature phone at heart. Aside from the 2.4″ QVGA screen, it also features fast 3.5G/HSDPA connectivity, Bluetooth and a 5MP camera with LED flash. No WiFi though. It also happens to be a dual SIM phone with Nokia Easy Swap technology that allows you to switch between SIMs without having to turn the phone off. Tired of touchscreen smartphones that only last a day on a full charge? The Nokia 515 can last up to 38 days on standby.

According to Nokia, the 515 should start shipping in Q3 of 2013, meaning it should launch some time before the end of September. Thinking of picking one up? The Nokia 515 SRP is EUR115 or about Php6.8k after straight conversion.

[Source: Nokia]

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  1. My mom needs a phone like this, basic keypads, easy navigation and dual sim. I even plan to buy one for myself as a second phone. But when I learned it’s not “dual stand-by”, i felt really disappointed. My mom wouldn’t want to switch sim cards. I don’t understand why can’t nokia make all their dual sim phones to be intact all the time instead of makng the users switch sim cards?it’s very inconvenient having to carry an extra sim card around. It such a tiny thing and could easily get lost in your bag, wallet or pocket.Just imagine you’re in a hurry and in a crowded place or public vehicles and you look for your sim coz you need to call using the other network. A lot of very cheap phones are dual stand-by. Why can’t Nokia make them?

  2. @Ayyenlala, obviously this is not the phone for you. But you simply cannot dismiss it just because you don’t like it. There is a market for this kind of phone, that is for sure. Actually this is the beauty of the market (for the people that are not iSheep): you can always choose what is best for you.

  3. I think it is expensive, Id rather have the touch screen phones with wifi for 6k rather than this and if I like the Old Style Phones, Id rather have Nokia 1100 or something that is around 2k to 3k. They can also run up to several days, and very durable.

    1. Well, the premium feel is still worth noting because its aluminum body doesn’t feel cheap. It is still important because phones need to have a premium feel like the iPhone 5 and HTC one.

      1. I know the premium feel and look is incomparable. But then again, the use of this kind of phone is for texting and calling or in short for communication only. If you can have a cheaper phone with the same usage, Id think it would be wise and practical to go for the cheap one, less with the “premium feeling”. As long as they can satisfy your needs, I think thats fine.