Microsoft Corporation prices its new Nokia 230 dumbphone HIGHER than a smartphone

Thanks to Nokia’s acquisition, Microsoft has been taking part in the smartphone industry for quite a few years now.

However, as it has been pointed out by several researchers and analysts, the specific acquisition was not exactly what one would call a business success. If anything, Microsoft is still trying to stand on its feet after losing a large number of income and resources for its slowly suffocating cell phone division.

In order to increase the numbers, the firm decided to put more weight in the production of feature phones, such as the refreshed Nokia 105, which costs only $20.

But Microsoft shifted strategy and has now released a feature phone – or as they are better-known dumbphones – the Dual-SIM enabled Nokia 230 for $55. It may not seem like an amount worth talking about, but, come to think about it, for $15 more you can buy the cheapest Lumia smartphone, while for less than that you can get Android devices like the SWIPE Konnect 3 and Kenxinda K528, which both cost less than $30.

What’s with the price?

For one thing, it’s clear that a dumbphone does not get anywhere near even the lowest-end smartphone and its features. So what could lead to that price?

First, feature phones are still used by the hordes all around the world, thanks to their lower price tags, their requirements for less monthly fees and most important of all; they can get you going for several days, whereas even the toughest smartphone will need a quick charge throughout the day – depends mostly on the intensity of use. Pew Research Center estimates that across seven sub-Saharan African nations, 65% of people still use feature phones.

So for all those reasons, Microsoft could really have made a wise move since the firm holds nothing to lose. That is due to the fact that the Nokia 230 doesn’t really cannibalize any of the company’s other smartphones, only rival handsets.

And there are actually lots of people that would choose one of the best feature phones (judging mostly by battery capacity and construction quality) over a smartphone of the lowest quality.

This will eventually help Microsoft increase its share of the smartphone market, which currently is as low as 2.6%

Bottom line is, Microsoft is off to a good start, but while taking on rival low-end smartphones is a clever and seemingly profitable thought, it will definitely take more than just one dumbphone to do the job.