Microsoft Unveils Budget-Friendly Selfie Smartphone ‘Nokia 230’

Microsoft has reportedly unveiled a new feature phone dubbed 'Nokia 230' which the company claims is a great tool for clicking selfies.

The $55 Nokia 230 features a straightforward and basic interface, modest specifications and is mainly geared towards developing markets, reported Venture Beat.

Coming to the specifications, the Nokia 130 successor packs a 2.8-inch QVGA display with a screen resolution of 320 x 240. The handset comes with two 2-megapixel cameras one on the front, and one on the back, which are both supported by an LED flash.

The phone runs on the Nokia Series 30+ operating system. It supports 16 MB of RAM and a microSD card slot that can expand the internal memory up to 32 GB, according to Christian Post.

 The handset features an FM radio antenna, an MP3 player and a 1,200mAh battery that promises to offer up to 23 hours of talk time, 27 days of standby time and 52 hours of music playback.

 The new Microsoft phone weighs in at 91.8g and measures 124.6x53.3x10.9mm. Although the Nokia 230 supports a touchscreen feature, most of the mobile functions are performed through the T9 keyboard.

The Nokia 230 has the capability to handle a lot of services including Bing Search, Facebook, MSN Weather, Twitter and Opera Mini Browser. Connectivity options on the phone include GPRS/ EDGE, Bluetooth v3.0, Micro-USB, and a 3.5mm audio jack.

The new handset will be made available  in glossy black and white color options with a consistent grey, sandblasted aluminium back cover common to both colors. There's also a dual-SIM model, named the Nokia 230 Dual SIM, for people who swap networks often.

The Nokia 230 and its dual SIM variant will go on sale in India, Asia and the Middle East in December with other markets to follow in 2016.