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Comment by Fuxy | Hacker News Reader

I like the concept but it is still targeting the market that can't afford smart phones.

They need a similar phone that is targeting the market that can afford smart phones but realized it doesn't need most of the features at the expense of battery life.

Like a phone with this feature set plus 3G/4G connectivity with WiFi tethering capability to say your tablet and a beefier battery.

Basically a classic Nokia phone and 3G/4G router to connect all your smart devices to while you're on the move and in need of a internet connection.

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They have a few. I've owned the 515 (fell from the fourth story and kept working for a solid year), and I currently own the 208. Both have HSPA or something, 3.5G anyway.

No wifi though, you'll have to either use bluetooth or USB (USB works better).

> I like the concept but it is still targeting the market that can't afford smart phones.

Every market can afford smartphones. 3G, wifi, tethering, dual SIMs (quite important in some areas), etc.

If Nokia can sell it in targeted markets, it will match functionality of similarly priced phones with much larger screens and much extended functionality, but the Nokia brand will bring the premium price tag, and in my opinion cheap reliable Androids will continue to win, the price of reliability being word-of-mouth amongst unknown but become-known brands and models, vs known but insufficiently featureful mainstream branded phones.

> cheap reliable Androids

They exist ? Low cost Android devices are absolutely nasty. They are buggy, extremely prone to viruses/malware, complex with terrible build quality.

There is always a market for simple, focused devices that "just work".

> extremely prone to viruses/malware

What?

I don't know what he meant, but from what I have seen, most cheap Android phones use Android 2.3, and so they aren't good on the security front.

Bought a Nexus 4 for $199 contract-free about two years ago. Seems pretty low cost to me, frequent OS updates, decent battery life, great build quality. The smart phone market honestly continues to mystify me.

the market that can afford smart phones but realized it doesn't need most of the features at the expense of battery life

I see what you mean, but that market still has different segments and what you talk about (phone with this feature set plus 3G/4G connectivity with WiFi tethering) is just one of them. I for instance couldn't care less about these features. And I'm pretty sure there's an entire segment which just wants a phone which just calls and texts without bells and whistles and a battery life that makes sense for a portable electronics device. Let's say at least 3 weeks. So yes with this one all I see is somthing which I can use to call and has 29 days of standby so I'm in :P Don't care about the price. Oh, it's ultra-cheap? WIN WIN :]

The Nokia Asha 210 is close to that, except it just have a 2.5G connectivity. I don't know if 3G is worth it on features phone. Don't you think it won't be powerful enough to take advantage of a 3G connection?

The phone wouldn't be but my tablet that I connect when I need a quick internet connection and a better more full featured experience would be.

I almost never use any of my smart phone's features except tethering.

The phone's screen is too small for comfort I would rather use my nexus 7 which I always have with me anyway however a phone of that size would be too awkward so why not just separate them.

A dumb phone with modem capabilities and great battery life and a smart device for everything else.

The point is not for the phone itself to use 3G/4G, but to enable it when the phone is used as an access point (or a tethered cellular modem) for a more powerful device.

On its own, the phone would use 2G/2.5G.

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