0
0
These are old-fashioned cell phones with a physical keypad but connected to the internet. They run on the KaiOS operating system: here’s how they work
They look like copies of Nokia 210 or Nokia 3310, but are actually produced by Chinese companies that are only present in emerging markets such as Africa and India. What are we talking about? We are talking about a new wave of cheap cell phones that are invading Africa and may soon reach Italy, driven by demand from users who are increasingly willing to buy cell phones that do not take pictures and respect privacy.
The common denominator of these new phones is the KaiOS operating system. It is a fast-growing mobile operating system with the goal of reaching 100 million devices in a few years. He also received a grant from Google, who liked the idea of creating a lightweight operating system that also allows mobile phones to access the Internet. The success of the project is also evidenced by the fact that Nokia has decided to install KaiOS on its own mobile phones: it is present in Nokia 8110, the “big banana” that the Finnish company launched last year and that can also be purchased in Italy.
KaiOS, the operating system of the future
The goal of KaiOS is very clear: to become the third mobile operating system after Android and iOS. For now, the company has focused on a very specific segment of the market: mobile phones (not smartphones) with a very low price (around fifty euros at most) but guaranteed to be connected to the Internet thanks to the presence of a 3G modem. Mobile phones with the KaiOS operating system are very successful in some African countries (South Africa, Nigeria) and especially in India, thanks to the telephone operator Jio. As mentioned above, mobile phones with the KaiOS operating system are also available in Italy thanks to the Nokia 8110 model.
Contrary to the old cell phones of the last decade, the new phones are not only super cheap at under € 20, they are also smart. This is possible thanks to Google’s investment in the KaiOS operating system, which brought some of the Big G services such as YouTube, Google Maps, and Google Assistant to the OS store. WhatsApp is also coming soon, making KaiOS an increasingly formidable opponent for Android and iOS.
Features of KaiOS phones
We have already talked about the price: just over 20 euros, which can go up to a maximum of 50 euros. However, we have not defined the technical characteristics of cheap mobile phones. Mobile phones with KaiOS do not have a touch screen, but a display with a maximum size of two inches with a built-in physical keyboard. The available memory is a maximum of 256MB, while the RAM is 128 / 256MB and is used only to run default applications or those downloaded from the online store. These are basic cell phones that do the job they were designed for: making calls and allowing you to surf the Internet at low speeds. The feature that distinguishes them from modern phones is the autonomy of the battery: it can last more than a week. This is essential for developing countries where electricity may not work for several hours.
