Nokia 130 Feature Phone Stays Charged for a Month on Standby, Will Cost Only $25

Microsoft-owned Nokia has announced that it will be launching a $25 feature phone that has a battery capable of lasting at least a week, or up to 30 days on standby, on a single charge. Don't get too excited – the Nokia 130 is not a smartphone, so you won't get any of the fancy perks that come with having a touchscreen and a powerful mobile operating system.

This seems to be part of Nokia's trend in creating ultra low-cost feature phones with excellent battery runtimes. In the first quarter of 2013 the company launched a very similar Nokia 105 capable of lasting up to 35 days on standby, at the price of only $20. That phone was initially released outside of the U.S. in markets in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa as well.

Some Features are Great, Some Nonexistent

Obviously, the Nokia 130's battery life makes it desirable in its own right, especially in certain situations when you don't foresee that there will be an opportunity to charge your phone. But where else does it excel? Let's just say this throwback-style device leaves much to be desired - it doesn't have a camera, you can't use it to connect to the internet (no 3G, 4G, or WiFi capabilities), and did we mention it doesn't even have a camera!

But on the bright side it has two SIM card slots, so you can receive phone calls on two different numbers, and you can continually access two different carrier networks simultaneously for optimal coverage in most areas. Furthermore, it does have built-in bluetooth functionality and it is preloaded with the popular SLAM bluetooth app that lets you send/receive digital content to and from other devices – no internet connection needed. As far as storage goes, it has a microSD storage slot that supports cards up to 32Gb in capacity.

Who Wants a Device Like This?

Nokia representatives have explained that this particular type of device is geared towards three main types of buyers:

• first-time mobile phone owners, or those on a restricted budget

• people in developing countries that can't afford a high-end device

• people who need a backup device that stays charged and performs basic call and text functions

In an interview with CNNMoney, Microsoft's Director of Marketing Neil Broadley pointed out that “there are still billions of people in the world who don't yet have a mobile device.”

The Nokia 130 mostly targets those people who need an easy entrance into the mobile phone market, but then it is also as handy device for anyone to have laying around for several reasons – you won't have to worry about the battery running down, and the low value and relatively high durability of the phone makes it ideal to carry in high-risk situations, such as while playing sports. You could even forward phone calls from your smartphone to the Nokia 130 to save battery time on your primary device.

Nokia isn't the only company releasing cheap phones with interesting features – Mozilla Firefox has finally begun releasing a special line of smartphones that cost $25, and they're smartphones! Also, Google's Ara Project could bring us the first super-affordable, customizable modular mobile phones.