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Nokia 108 is a super-cheap way to own an awful camera phone

The Nokia 108 is a cheap-as-chips new phone aimed at people who have never owned a phone with a camera before.

Richard Trenholm Former Movie and TV Senior Editor
Richard Trenholm was CNET's film and TV editor, covering the big screen, small screen and streaming. A member of the Film Critic's Circle, he's covered technology and culture from London's tech scene to Europe's refugee camps to the Sundance film festival.
Expertise Films, TV, Movies, Television, Technology
Richard Trenholm
2 min read

The Nokia 108 is a cheap-as-chips new phone aimed at people who have never owned a phone with a camera before, and want to change that by owning a phone with a really, really awful camera.

Announced today, the 108 has a 0.3-megapixel camera. It's a perfectly respectable budget phone -- on paper anyway -- but you have to wonder why they even bothered with that camera.

And in order to actually save any of your photos, you do have to buy your own microSD card -- come on Nokia, bit cheap -- so that's a few quid extra on the asking price right there. The phone takes memory cards up to 32GB.

You'll be able to fit a fair few pictures on your card, because they're so small: a paltry 640x480 pixels. You know how today's smart phones and compact cameras have around 8-megapixels or more? This thing offers about a third of a megapixel.

The small file size means they'll be quick to zap to others, at least. Nokia Slam wirelessly sends your pictures to other phones, tablets and computers over Bluetooth 3.0.

The 108 has a 1.8-inch colour screen. Because it doesn't have to keep a giant touchscreen illuminated, the battery lasts ages: we're talking 13 hours chatting away or a month on standby.

The phone comes in red, white, black, yellow and cyan, and you can swap the cover when you fancy a change. Inside is an MP3 player and FM radio. Oh, and it has Snake!

Nokia has also announced a dual SIM version, which allows you to pop in two SIM cards and then choose which number to use to make a call or send a text message. Handy if you're overseas and want a local number with local rates without giving up your home number, although they're not very common in this country.

The 108 hits shops some time before the end of the year. UK details are yet to be confirmed, but the phone is set to cost around $29 in the US.

Are you in the market for a no-frills phone? Do you think dual SIM phones should come to this country? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook page.