HMD Global, the Nokia brand licensee, revealed a refresh of its original Nokia 8110 phone at the recently concluded MWC 2018. The feature phone comes in a slider format, has a candy-bar like appearance and comes with 4G connectivity. The original Nokia 8810 slider phone was made popular thanks to the Matrix movie. When Nokia 8110 eventually launches in India, it will face competition from a number of 4G enabled feature phones as such Micromax Bharat 1.
Design
The resurrected Nokia 8110 retains the same curved body and the slider form factor from two decades back. It looks like a typical feature phone with a small screen and the underneath the slider is the keypad. You press a button to open the slider and answer a call.
As for the display, the device sports a 2.45-inch QVGA display with a resolution of 240 pixels by 320 pixels. The Nokia 8110 is available in banana yellow and black.
In comparison, the Micromax Bharat 1 looks more like a conventional feature phone. It has a 2.4-inch TFT colour display and a numerical keypad on the front. The overall build quality of the phone is stellar and its got a nice matte finish. For connectivity, the Bharat 1 has a Micro-USB port, a 3.5mm headphone jack and like other phones have a LED torch on the top.
Hardware
The Nokia 8110 4G is powered by a 1.1Ghz dual-core Qualcomm 205 mobile processor and comes with 512MB of RAM. The device packs 4GB of internal storage which is expandable with a microSD card slot.
There is a 2MP camera at the back with a simple LED flash. A 1,500mAh battery power the device. HMD Global claims the Banana phone can last up to 25 hours on standby and deliver a talk time of 9.32 hours on a 4G VoLTE.
The Micromax Bharat 1 is also powered by Qualcomm 205 processor coupled with 512MB of RAM and 4GB internal storage. Storage is expandable using the microSD slot, and cards of up to 128GB are supported. As for the cameras, there is a 2MP camera on the rear and a VGA quality shooter on the front. The phone also packs a larger removable 2000mAh battery.
Software, Connectivity & Price
As for the OS, the Nokia 8110 is powered by KaiOS, a new platform system based on Linux. The OS is specifically created for a new generation of feature phones, and the Nokia 8110 is the first to get it. The phone gets its own app store that allows you to use to use Facebook, Twitter, Google Maps, Google Assistant and even a revamped version of Snake. HMD Global has promised additional apps for the device.
Micromax Bharat 1 too runs on a customised version of Android, though the company has not revealed any details on the same. It comes preloaded with apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook Lite. However, you cannot install any other Android apps.
The Nokia 8110 features dual SIM slots that allow connectivity over 4G LTE and GSM networks. Other connectivity options include Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, and FM Radio.
The Bharat 1 is also a dual SIM phone with 4G support only on the first SIM, while the second slot is restricted to 2G/3G networks. There is support for Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi hotspot, USB tethering, Bluetooth and GPS.
The Nokia 8110 will go on sale for 79 Euros in European Union. This translates roughly to Rs 6000 in India, though it is likely Nokia will launch the phone for a cheaper price in the country. The Micromax Bharat 1, on the other hand, comes at Rs 2,200.
Conclusion
Both the phones match each other in respects to the hardware and features. However, Nokia 8110 has got a far cooler design and as well as supports the KaiOS which can allow more apps to function. The Bharat 1, on the other hand, has got a selfie camera and is available at a far lower price than the Banana phone. Overall while Nokia 8110 trumps other feature phones with its design and Google apps support, its steep price won’t work for the Indian market as one can get a touchscreen smartphone at around Rs 6,000.
