Microsoft released Nokia 216 and 216 Dual Sim

Microsoft is still on it. Yes, making Nokia phones. Just when we thought the cellphone giant of the early 2000s will never be able to grace the store shelves, Microsoft surprised us with an announcement for the new Nokia 216 feature phone. A feature phone in 2016. This is interesting and it is worth to look at, even if out of nostalgia.

The phone business acquired by Microsoft, Nokia, is supposed to be sold to FIH Mobile – a Foxconn subsidiary. It is speculated that it will be worth $350 million. But instead of the sale to be announced, the company released the most basic phone Microsoft makes. It will be available in India for just $37 next month. It will have an Opera mini browser and a headphone jack. Very nice, indeed.

Why Microsoft still makes feature phones?

To put it simply, Microsoft technically sells millions of smartphones every month. They are continuing to make feature phones with the hopes that feature phone users will eventually make a Microsoft account and eventually be persuaded to be a part of the Microsoft ecosystem. Yet unclear if feature phone users actually made a Microsoft account, it would be a safe assumption. Microsoft’s latest rumor shows that it will kill of the Lumia branding towards the end of 2016 and will be replaced with Surface branded phones.