Announced at the same time as today's Nokia Bicycle Charging kit are four new low end Nokia C series phones. While none of these phones run Symbian or could be considered anywhere close to today's smartphones, they do offer a timely reminder that low cost devices continue to dominate overall sales. The C1-00 (€30) and C2-00 (€45) are Nokia's first dual SIM phones, a feature that some smartphone users would love to have. Moreover, they illustrate the breadth of Nokia's service ambitions with the C2-00, C1-01 and C1-02 phones supporting Nokia Messaging and Ovi Life Tools. It is such devices that will, on a global basis, be the biggest engines for social change. 

It's all too easy to concentrate solely on high-end devices, but this can provide a misleading picture of the overall market place. Smartphone sales in Q1 made up 16% of total mobile phone sales (approximately 50 million of a total of 325 million); the numbers are even more pronounced if you look at the installed usage numbers.

Moreover the definitions of phone categories (smartphone, featurephone, entryphone) and their specifications are continually shifting. For example, the Nokia C1-01 announced today has a set of specifications that are very similar to the Nokia 7650, the first Series 60 phone, which was announced eight years ago.
   

Low end Cseries devices

The C1-00 is notable for having dual SIM card slots (and the ability to switch between them on a single key press) and a standby battery time of up to six weeks. An FM radio and LED flash light round off the C1-00, which has a base price of €30.

The C2-00, which also has dual SIM card slots (one of which is hot swappable), goes one better and allows both SIMs to be active at the same time. In addition to an FM Radio and flash light, the C2 also has a microSD card slot and supports a number of Nokia services, including Ovi Life Tools and Nokia Messaging (Ovi Mail and IM); it has a base price of €45.

C1-00, C1-01, C1-02, C2-00

The C1-01 (€39) and C1-02 (€35) are both single SIM phones, but are Nokia's cheapest devices with a microSD card slot and offer basic access to the web via GPRS connectivity and Nokia's Messaging and Lifetool services. The C1-01 also includes a VGA camera for stills and video capture.

Nokia is one of only two companies, the other is Samsung, that offer a complete range of mobile products, from low-end to high-end, on a global basis, that draw upon a single brand and overall design identity. In theory this allows an individual to be a 'Nokia-person' throughout their lifetime. Given the personal and emotive nature of people's connection to their mobiles this is a factor that should not be under-estimated.

Rafe Blandford