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Nokia 1280: cheapest Nokia phone yet

By Mike on 04 November 2009

Nokia-1280JAKARTA, Indonesia – The Nokia 1280 doesn’t look unusual, but it certainly is unique and quite special. This time last year we brought you news of the Nokia 1202 for India, a 25 Euro phone that sparked a heap of great comments when we first unveiled it at the tail end of 2008. Now, today sees the launch of a device that shaves 20 percent off that price tag, with the announcement of the first 20 Euro handset in the form of the Nokia 1280 – Nokia’s cheapest ever phone. One stride closer to the reality of a 5 Euro phone? The concept doesn’t seem so far fetched. Read on to find out more about the new 1280, and scribble down your thoughts in the comments section below.

The new Nokia 1280 is a device perched at the absolute opposite side of the playing field to the N900 in terms of high-end functionality and performance, but that certainly doesn’t mean it warrants any less attention or kudos. See, I have a serious soft spot for what this device stands for and what it means – it’s a fresh-faced pioneer in terms of showing how low the price of a handset can go without sacrificing basic quality, performance and functionality. That’s no mean feat of engineering, or ambition for that matter, don’t you think? We need handsets like the 1280, as they push our expectations and drive performance and value benchmarks in an entirely different fashion.

The 1280 has been built to meet the needs of folk in remote and rural areas. In environments such as this, phone sharing is extremely common and necessary, so the new Nokia 1280 features five separate phone books, designed specifically so five different people can comfortably use it (first seen on the Nokia 1202) – split that 20 Euros between five members of a community and it becomes a 4 Euro device of sorts. I think that’s pretty incredible when you think about it in those terms.

Highly dust resistant and scratch resistant with a robust keyboard, the 1280 has been designed with longevity in mind. The same can be said on the battery life front, with up to 22 days of standby time and 8.5 hours of talk time – invaluable in communities where gaining access to electricity can often mean traveling to the nearest town many miles away.

Other key features include a torch, again a significantly valuable tool in areas without electricity, speaking clock with alarm, hands-free calling and FM radio support. Style hasn’t been left out of the equation though, as the 1280 features changeable colour covers and loud MP3 grade ringtones.

It will launch in certain markets with Nokia Life Tools pre-loaded.

The Nokia 1280 is slated to launch in the first quarter of 2010 for 20 Euros.

Let us know your thoughts on the cheapest Nokia phone yet.

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  4 Comments For This Post

  1. Viswateja Says:

    another milestone of 25 euros from nokia . i was surprised to see a 3.5 mm jack ! and integration with lifetools shows nokia’s commitment to development and connecting people, as usual.

    Reply

  2. cycnus Says:

    Oppss… Nokia did it again…

    Just the other day, I saw at the news paper about the launch of the other brand, and when the reporter ask the high rank officer of that company about the cheap product that were sold with facebook capability, that person said, “people would feel ashame to use cheap product……”, and I thought that kind of company should never receive my support (money) even they sold good product.

    With this Nokia 1280 product, I see this as a good sign that nokia didn’t fell ashame to build an affordable phone. This is a sign that nokia really care at connecting people. And deserve the money from the high end (N-series/E-series).

    I really wish nokia continuing this kind of down to earth leadership.

    Reply

  3. zima Says:

    Ahhh, I was hoping that this time you would make it a “one month phone” ;) (of standby time). 1202 wasn’t that far off already…and I’d just love to see Nokia having such bragging rights :)

    Still, great class of devices. Also as a second phone, when hiking, etc. when I want to be sure I can rely on it (and it probably won’t let me down even if abused, quite sturdy overall; BTW, how about a phone from this basic series that is even more rugged than 3720? (more waterproof?) Or even with “SOS flashlight”, emergency SMS (coupled to simple GPS that only displays coordinates? Nah, GPS probably not cheap enough for this phone class ;/ ) with few creative ways of activation, that sort of things?)

    But most importantly – thanks for trying to bring connectivity to as many people who want it as possible. Might make the world a bit better place…

    Reply

  4. Owen Says:

    Good to see. My Nokia 1100 is still going strong, they seem to build the lower end phones to last as well, impressive in this day and age.

    Reply

11 Trackbacks For This Post

  1. Download Five new Nokia phones launched | Mobile360.Org Says:

    [...] The inspiration? They wanted to create a mobile phone people could buy for $5. As mike says in his post about the 1280 – which, like many of these devices can be shared by five different users – they’ve almost [...]

  2. Nokia 1280, el celular más barato de Nokia - Nokia Latino Says:

    [...] Via Nokia Conversations [...]

  3. Mobiele Telefoons » Nokia 1280: Cheapest Nokia phone yet http://is.gd/4NBJU Has flashlight too! Says:

    [...] 1280: Cheapest Nokia phone yet http://is.gd/4NBJU Has flashlight too! Tags: fresh, [...]

  4. Mobiele Telefoons » Free? RT @smashpop: Nokia 1280: Cheapest Nokia phone yet http://is.gd/4NBJU Has flashlight too! Says:

    [...] RT @smashpop: Nokia 1280: Cheapest Nokia phone yet http://is.gd/4NBJU Has flashlight too! Tags: fresh, [...]

  5. links for 2009-11-05 | stuart henshall Says:

    [...] A mobile for just 20 euros – with multi address books – More likely appropriate for a jo… Not sure about this use case. Add in family and it may make sense. "phone sharing is extremely common and necessary, so the new Nokia 1280 features five separate phone books, designed specifically so five different people can comfortably use it (first seen on the Nokia 1202) – split that 20 Euros between five members of a community and it becomes a 4 Euro device of sorts. [...]

  6. Mobiele Telefoons » Nokia 1280 is slated to launch in the first quarter of 2010 for 20 Euros … Says:

    [...] 1280 is slated to launch in the first quarter of 2010 for 20 Euros http://bit.ly/wCu8O Tags: fresh, [...]

  7. Nokia lança seu celular mais barato Says:

    [...] Nokia afirmou em seu blog que o aparelho é o mais barato da empresa, custando 20% a menos do que seu predecessor, o 1202. A [...]

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  9. Nokia 1280: самый доступный телефон за 20 евро – Jewelry Says:

    [...] Источник: conversations.nokia.com [...]

  10. Nokia 1280: самый доступный телефон за 20 евро » Боталка Says:

    [...] Бустер: conversations.nokia.com [...]

  11. gadget.logg | Nokia presenta il 1280: cellulare da 20 € Says:

    [...] [Approfondimenti: Nokia Conversations] [...]

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