It’s been wall-to-wall coverage of iPhones recently (and my review is in progress at the moment), but what if you don’t want an Apple slab phone… and prefer buttons on your phone?
Well, good news for you – HMD Global has released another refresh of the classic Nokia phones, with the Nokia 6300 4G and Nokia 8000 4G.
The refreshed Nokia Nokia 6300 4G and Nokia 8000 4G are feature phones (as opposed to smartphones), in the classic candy bar form factor (which is fine. Although – let’s be honest, a bit of classic Nokia oddness would always be welcome).
Both phones offer 4G and offer some apps via the KaiStore (as they run KaiOS). So, those of you who want FaceBook, YouTube, Google Maps and so on are catered for. The phones offer WhatsApp out of the door too. For those who love a voice assistant, Google Assistant is baked in for your needs.
As they are 4G devices, HMD Global has added a mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot, useful for those when are out and about to share your data with (for example, a phone with minimal coverage, a tablet or a laptop).
Onto the devices
The 6300 is a polycarbonate shell phone and well, looks a little like this, coming in Cyan Green, Light Charcoal and Powder White. It will last with up to 25 days standby on 4G, with 3 and a half hours talk time. If you step down to 3G connectivity, standby increases to nearly 28 days and over 8 hours of talk time, with a 2.4″ screen.
Let us move on to the 8000 4G, which has metalised chrome midframe, with a glasslike back and having a few eye-popping colours in Onyx, Opal, Citrine and Topaz. Standby time again with these phones is long-lasting, with over 25 days in both 4G and 3G, with talk time rated to over 3 hours in 4G, and 8 and half days in 3G. It’s also got a 2.8″ screen.
Both phones also have cameras and are powered by Qualcomm Snapdrago 210, paired with 512mb of memory, 4gb of internal storage – expandable to another 32Gb using MicroSD cards.
And they also come with chargers – something that will become rarer soon for some reason.
And the prices?
For a feature phone, not bad at all, with the Nokia 6300 4G at 49 EUR, whilst the Nokia 8000 4G comes in 79 EUR depending if its sold in the market you’re in.
In Quotes
Juho Sarvikas, Chief Product Officer and Vice President of North America HMD Global:
“As the world is still adapting to the new normal and working flexibly, we wanted to provide an extra layer of reassurance and convenience for families to remain connected both to their work and one another. The amazingly affordable Nokia 6300 4G and beautiful Nokia 8000 4G offer choice, connectivity and style, drawing on our trusted heritage, redesigned for the modern day. Plus, both phones can easily double up as pocket-size WiFi hotspots, giving you an extra layer of confidence that you will remain connected on your other devices as well. As a company, we place a huge importance on the essential role feature phones play in the lives of so many. Our goal is to both connect those who need it the most and give our fans the opportunity to choose what phone fits their lifestyle best.”
Raun Forsyth, Head of Design, HMD Global:
“The whole Nokia phone portfolio is connected through design. It’s something that our fans know and recognise so we pay extra attention to make sure that our heritage transpires throughout everything we do, and this has been no exception. With the Nokia 6300 4G and Nokia 8000 4G, we wanted to offer the same choice that you’d have with our smartphone range to our feature phone customers, so they too can express their own personal style through technology.”
Sometimes, Feature Phones might be a better solution than a smartphone
For a lot of us – we use smartphones daily to connect with the world and to conduct business with. However, there is a place for phones that have long battery life, the ability to act as a hotspot and one you can just pick up and use, without resorting to an app.
And HMD Global has worked this rather well with their range of classic Nokia designs and refreshes.
For those needing to be contactable, yet have some measure of disconnectedness from the world of apps, feed updates and constant scrolling – this could be a good phone to have around. Or at least keep in the glove box for a long-lasting phone that’s useful when your shining wonder phone runs out of battery power…
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