Nearly smart
While Nokia's struggles in the smartphone space are well documented, it can't afford to take its eye of the ball further down the market, where it still shifts more kit than anyone else.
This is generally referred to as the feature-phone market, and is now the domain of people who either don't want to spend as much on a phone as they would a car, or who have more modest expectations of what a phone should be able to do for them.
It must be tough to launch new feature-phones these days as all us techoholics will immediately deride them for not having a four inch screen, go-faster stripes and such omnipotence as to effectively render its user a brain in a jar. But the market's there, and not just in developing economies.
Nokia's latest effort combines - wait for it - a touch-screen and a regular 12 button keypad. To add yet more mystique to this innovation Nokia has even given the X3 a catch-phrase: Touch and Type. Joking aside, it's not such a bad idea as some functions lend themselves more to one interface than the other.
"We continue to push innovation at all price points. The Nokia X3 brings new consumer value with a device that combines a touch screen and a keypad at an affordable price, offering consumers the best of both Worlds." said Mark Loughran, Managing Director, Nokia UK.
We haven't got the screen size, but the whole unit measures 106.2 x 48.4 x 9.6mm, yes that's less than a centimeter thick. The X3 facilitates apparently essential social networking and has access to more apps from the Ovi store. It has most of the other bells and whistles you expect from a modern phone and is expected to cost around €125 (£100).
Here's a piccie and a vid.
