Hi-tech smartphone-sated children today may be amazed to learn that back in the day mobile phones had battery lives that stretched into weeks rather than hours, and that handsets had crazy old fashioned things like buttons. Imagine!
This was a long distant time when Nokia ruled supreme, and their annoying ring tone could be heard ringing out across the land.
Perhaps hoping to persuade us that simple can indeed be best, Nokia have released the Nokia 515, an updated take on their dumbphones of yore, and it’s a rather attractive package.
It’s certainly not as cheap as some of the rock bottom old school phones on the market, but for around £125, you get a handset with with an old fashioned keypad and a 2.4″ 262K-color 240 x 320 TFT display (non touchscreen) protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 2.
There’s a 5MP camera with LED flash, face detection, panorama and QVGA video recording around the back, 256MB internal storage, 64MB RAM and quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support plus dual-band 3G with HSDPA, but, annoyingly no wi-fi.
Running the S40 6th edition OS, the phone also packs an FM Radio, Bluetooth v3.0 and supports voice commands.
There’s social apps on board to keep you connected, an accelerometer and proximity sensor backed by a 1200mAh Li-Ion battery for oodles of battery life.
For folks who need a long battery life over all the latest features, this seems a decent enough package to keep you connected and the addition of social apps and a 5MP camera means that the smartphone basics are adequately covered.
If this number takes your fancy, you can but it on Amazon here: Nokia 515 Sim Free Mobile Phone – Black
Here’s all the specs you could wish for:
- Dimensions
- Height: 114 mm
- Width: 48 mm
- Thickness: 11 mm
- Weight: 101.1 g
- Display and User Interface
- Display size: 2.4 ”
- Display resolution: QVGA (320 x 240)
- Display features: Brightness control, RGB Stripe, Corning® Gorilla® Glass 2
- Display colors: HighColor (18-bit/262k)
- Aspect ratio: 4:3
- Pixel density: 166 ppi
- Display technology: LCD Transmissive
- Keys and Input Methods
- User Input: Keypad
- Operating keys: Volume keys, Call key, 4-way Navi key with select, Alphanumeric keypad, Power/End key
- Form factor
- Form factor: Monoblock
- Hardware
- Connectivity
- SIM card type: Micro SIM
- Charging connectors: Micro-USB
- AV connectors: 3.5 mm audio connector
- System connectors: Micro-USB-B
- USB: USB 2.0, USB mass storage
- Bluetooth: Bluetooth 3.0
- Bluetooth profiles: Object Push profile (OPP) 1.1, Hands-free profile (HFP) 1.5, Headset profile (HSP) 1.1, SIM Access Profile (SAP), Serial Port profile (SPP), Phone Book Access Profile (PBAP) 1.0, Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) 1.2, Audio/Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP) 1.4, General Audio/Video Distribution Profile (GAVDP), Service Discovery Application Profile (SDAP)
- Wi-Fi: No Wi-Fi
- Data Network
- WCDMA network: 900 MHz, 2100 MHz
- WCDMA max data speed DL: HSDPA – 7.2 Mbps
- WCDMA max data speed UL: HSUPA – 5.76 Mbps
- GSM network: 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 1900 MHz
- GSM max data speed DL: EGPRS 236.8 kbps
- GSM max data speed UL: EGPRS 236.8 kbps
- Power Management2
- Battery model: BL-4U
- Battery capacity: 1200 mAh
- Battery voltage: 3.7 V
- Removable battery: Yes
- Maximum standby time: 33 days
- Maximum talk time (2G): 10.4 h
- Maximum talk time (3G): 5.3 h
- Memory
- User data storage: In device, Memory card
- RAM: 64 MB
- Expandable memory card type: MicroSD
- Maximum memory card size: 32 GB
- Connectivity
- Software and applications
- Productivity features
- Personal information management features: Dictionary, Recorder, Calculator, Clock, World clock, Calendar, Converter, Notes, Alarm clock, Reminders, To-do list
- Sync type: Remote SyncML synchronisation, Local SyncML synchronisation
- Sync content: Calendar, Contacts
- Other Applications
- Game features: Java games
- Graphics format: JPEG, OTA, DCF, BMP, SVG, GIF89a, M3G, OTA BMP, PNG, WBMP, GIF87a, SVG-T
- Software platform & User Interface
- SW Platform: Series 40
- Software release: Series 40
- Productivity features
- Communications
- Email and Messaging3
- Email clients: Mail for Exchange, Direct mail
- Email protocols: SMTP, IMAP4, POP3, IMAP4 IDLE
- Email features: Always up to date, Multiple simultaneous email accounts, Email attachments, Viewing of email attachments, IMAP IDLE
- Supported instant messaging services: Nokia Chat
- Messaging features: Concatenated SMS for long messages, Multiple SMS deletion, Text messaging, Multimedia messaging
- Call management
- Call management features: Call waiting, Automatic redial, Call forwarding, Anykey answer, Speed dial
- Supported amount of phonebooks: 1
- Supports amount of contacts: 1000
- Ringtones: 32-polyphonic ringtones
- Speech codecs: AMR-WB, AMR-NB
- VoiP codecs: G.711, G.729, iLBC, G.726, AMR-NB, GSM EFR, AMR-WB, GSM FR
- Email and Messaging3
- Device security
- Security
- General Security features: Device lock, Device passcode, PIN code
- Data encryption: User data encryption for memory card
- Security
- Sharing and Internet
- Navigation
- Photography
- Main camera
- Main camera sensor: 5 MP
- Camera resolution: 2592 x 1944 pixels
- Main camera focus type: Full focus technology (EDoF)
- Camera digital zoom: 3 x
- Main camera f-number/aperture: f/2.4
- Camera image formats: JPEG, JPEG/Exif
- Flash type: LED flash
- Flash modes: Off, Automatic, On
- Main camera features
- Main camera – other features: Face recognition, Full screen viewfinder
- Image capturing
- Capture modes: Panorama, Sequence, Self-timer, Video
- Colour tone modes: Sepia, Greyscale, Normal, Negative
- White balance modes: Cloudy, Incandescent, Sunny, Shade, Fluorescent, Daylight, Automatic, Lightbulb
- Light sensitivity: Automatic
- Photos viewed by: Album
- Main camera
- Music and Audio
- Music
- DRM support: OMA DRM 2
- Audio features: Music Player
- Music format
- Codecs: MP3, AMR-WB, LPCM, AMR-NB, MIDI, a-law, NRT, SP-MIDI, Mobile XMF, AAC LTP, AAC LC, mu-law, AAC+/HEAAC, eAAC+/HEAACv2, ADPCM
- Audio playback file formats: WAV, MXMF, AAC, MP3, AWB, M4A, NRT, MIDI
- Radio
- Radio features: Radio recording5, FM RDS radio
- Voice and audio recording
- Recording: Voice recorder
- Audio recording file formats: AMR
- Audio recording codecs: AMR-NB
- Audio recording features: Stereo
- Music
- Video
- Main video camera
- Camera video resolution: QVGA (320 x 240)
- Camera video frame rate: 30 fps
- Camera video zoom: 2 x
- Video playback frame rate: 30 fps
- Video playback codecs: H.264/AVC, H.263, MPEG-4
- Video playback file formats: MP4, AVI, 3GP, 3G2, M4V
- Video recording formats: 3GP/H.263, MP4/MPEG-4
- Video recording colour modes: Negative, Normal, Greyscale, Sepia
- Video playback features: Video editing
- Video scene modes: Portrait, Landscape
- Video white balance modes: Fluorescent, Incandescent, Automatic, Daylight
- Main video camera features
- Video streaming: YouTube browsing and video streaming, Progressive video download
- Video recording features: Video zoom
- Main video camera
- Environment
- Environmental features
- Materials: Free of PVC, Free of nickel on the product surface, Free of BFR, rFR as in Nokia Substance List
- Energy efficiency: Unplug charger reminder, Energy efficient charger
- Eco content and services: Available at Nokia Store
- Recycling: 100% recoverable as materials and energy
- User guide: One colour printing
- Packaging: Made of renewable materials, Containing up to 60% recycled materials, Minimized package, Packaging is 100 % recyclable
- Environmental features
- Accessibility
- Accessibility features
- Hearing: Vibrating alerts
- Vision: Vibrating alerts, Zoom
- Physical skills: Speed dial, Speakerphone
- Accessibility features
- What’s in the box
- Box
- Sales Package: Nokia 515, High Efficiency Charger AC-20, Nokia Battery BL-4U 1200 mAh, Nokia Stereo Headset WH-108, User Guide, Battery cover release tool
- Box
This is at least £50 over priced for my tastes.
Of course you can still buy those dumbphones with buttons and battery lives in weeks from around a tenner, and £30-£40 buys you one with a camera, MP3 player and very basic webbrowser on top
This phone offers a bit more than that, but even so, not eighty quid’s worth of ‘more’.
Also, I would suspect the battery life on this wouldn’t be that much more than a smartphone if you had all the ‘goodies’ enabled.
The Nokia 515 is by far some of the best options to a smartphone, there is on the market.
Bought this 2 months ago and th average battery time is 4 days, even with a lot of talking (but that will vary).
I am one of those people who is sick and tired of smartphones and their uselessness and most of all, no battery time.
The Nokia 515 is doing excellent so far and is the best I’ve had since my Nokia 3210!
Would advice anyone to buy this!
I have two 515s – they last only one day on standby.
Very disappointing.
Feature phones should come with much bigger batteries.