Features that people look for in basic phones are not cameras, fancy user interfaces or even games. The demands are really very basic such as long battery life, robustness, internet access and a torch.
According to a poll currently running on Nokia’s official blog, long battery life is the most important thing for 23 per cent of people, while internet access is the most important feature for 13 per cent.
Surprisingly, cost is the least important factor with only 6.5 per cent people saying that it affects their decision when buying a basic phone.
Robustness, GPS functionality and fancy user interface got 8.63, 10 and 8 per cent votes, respectively.
The poll is still on and final results, which will be announced next week, will determine what features Nokia will include in forthcoming handsets.
Five per cent of voters so far opted for Wifi, and email is an important feature for only 3.6 per cent.
Most handsets available in India have these features. However, robustness is one thing that Indian brands have missed so far, and that reflects in the sales charts, so that even though Nokia has lost a lot of market share in the basic phone market, it still manages to hold on to more than 50 per cent.