Sprint is set to launch its first Nokia handset in the last nine years. Unfortunately, this will also be its last Nokia phone. The Nokia 635 will launch on Dec. 23 at prepaid services Virgin Mobile and Boost and then at Sprint on Jan. 16. The price of the pre-paid version will be $99.99, but the contract version price is still unknown.
Sprint gives Nokia one last try
Matt Rothschild (lead of North American sales for Microsoft’s mobile phone division) explained, “This is really the representation of our restart of the partnership with Sprint. We’ll expand that portfolio over time.”
The Nokia Lumia 635 features a 218ppi screen that appears a little fuzzy and isn’t very bright. It features a 5-megapixel camera with no flash, a microSD card, and a removable 1,830mAh battery. It runs on a quad-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 processor. It also runs on Windows Phone 8.1.
Key features in Sprint’s Nokia phone
The Sprint version will work on the carrier’s fast Spark network, but it won’t come with high-definition voice or Wi-Fi calling. These features could be added in a future update. Rothschild added, “That’s something we’re not ready for as of yet, but as we look to broaden our portfolio, it’s something we’ll look for in upgrades or future devices.”
Sprint has experienced a shaky past with both Nokia and Windows Phone in the past. Back in 2006, the carrier sold Nokia phones before backing away from CDMA a year later. During the 2010 launch of Windows Phone, Sprint remained at distance. Microsoft is now in the midst of transforming the Nokia brand into the Windows brand. Although there have yet to be any announcements of events at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show, next year’s Windows event will likely focus on mobile.
Windows Phone has proven to have some success in the low-price market, however, it has yet to reach the flagship device market in the United States.
