Sub-Rs 2,000 Nokia feature phones to hit Indian mkt in Jan-Mar

HMD Global, which has a brand licensing agreement with Nokia for mobile phones and tablets, will launch two new feature phones globally in the January- March quarter.

The handsets will be rolled out in India around the same time at a price less than Rs 2,000.

"With a familiar user interface, the new devices respond to consumer demand for great quality, affordability and ease of use... The Nokia 150 and Nokia 150 dual SIM will be available at an estimated retail price of USD 26 before local taxes and subsidies," HMD said in a statement.

The phones will become available globally in select markets, rolling out first in APAC, IMEA and Europe, in the first quarter of 2017, it added.

The devices have 2.4-inch screen with features like built in FM radio and MP3 player, games (like classic Snake Xenzia and Nitro Racing) and battery with talk time lasting up to 22 hours.

Earlier this month, Nokia announced a comeback in the global handset market with HMD Global. HMD Global struck a 10-year brand licensing agreement with Nokia and is set to launch a slew of smartphones and feature phones globally in 2017.

According to company executives, India will play a critical role in Nokia's "next phase of journey" with the iconic brand competing fiercely in the global smartphone market that is currently dominated by Samsung and Apple.

India is one of the fastest growing smartphone markets globally. Also, even though the feature phone market has been gradually shrinking in the country, the segment still accounts for a major chunk of shipments.

According to research firm IDC, smartphone shipments in India grew 11 percent to 32.3 million units in July-September quarter compared with the year-ago period.

The overall mobile phone market (smartphone and feature phones) shipment closed at 72.3 million units in the quarter with an 18.1 percent sequential growth.