How basic phones are ‘a boon for digital detox’
Sales of basic-feature phones are being sustained by consumers who want to "digitally detox", according to Finnish company HMD Global, which makes and sells cellphones under the Nokia brand. The Nokia 3310, which HMD revived in early 2017 soon after buying the licence for Nokia’s phones and tablets from Microsoft, "has got nice momentum" in SA, HMD GM for southern Africa Shaun Durandt told Business Day. "It grows legs as it goes. We have discussions with various partners in SA as an example, and it doesn’t look like [demand for] that product is subsiding," Durandt said. Overwhelmed by constant engagements with smartphones, many consumers were choosing to use feature phones over weekends or holidays. Since feature phones had long battery lives, of up to a month, consumers were also buying these phones to keep in their cars for emergencies. The 3310 and many of its peers do not support applications such as WhatsApp. According to research and advisory firm Gartner, worldwide sales of s...
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