The Nokia 105 is the little phone that could. A tiny, low-cost communicator that’s designed to deliver the basics you need from a mobile phone. Plus it brings a few neat extras to the table.

I’ve been using it as a second phone for a few weeks now. To be completely transparent about this, I couldn’t use it as my main device: work commitments make mobile email essential. So how’s it been? It’s been great. But let me pick out the things that really stood out.

1. Size matters. I had kind of forgotten how nice it is to have a tiny phone that you can carry without even noticing. Twice now, I’ve had to save my Nokia 105 when I threw the shirt that was carrying it into the laundry. I am thinking the compactness might particularly appeal to women who need to carry everything they need for a night out in a small clutch purse.
2. Loud and clear. This might be a small phone, but it’s really loud. This is very much an intentional part of the design, because in the countries that the Nokia 105 is aimed at, there’s a lot of noise from the hustle and bustle of daily life – more so than your average town or city, so clear-sounding calls matter. Extra bonus points, though, for the ring being perfectly audible when the phone is in my bag.
3. Battery life. What normally happens = I realise I didn’t charge my phone yesterday; bring on anxiety about whether my battery will go flat today. What happens with the Nokia 105 = It eventually gets down to one bar and I realise that I can’t actually remember where I left the charger from the last time it needed a top-up, it’s been that long.
4. You can do a lot with less. It’s really nice, of course, to be able to sync your calendar and contacts with the cloud and all that fancy stuff. But the reality is that – email aside – about 95 per cent of my own phone life is that I call and text the same 6-7 numbers. And sometimes *not* getting emails anytime, anywhere is a real breath of fresh air…
5. Snake is still great. It may be a little while before AAA games like Sims Medieval make their way onto a device at the price point the Nokia 105 reaches. But that doesn’t mean it’s no fun. On the contrary, with its simple, compelling gameplay and perfect optimisation for mobile devices, Snake has provided all I need for a little downtime while I’m on the move.

There’s more to the Nokia 105 than this, of course. I haven’t actually used the calendar or the FM radio, for example, except to see how they work. But it remains amazing how much phone you can get for $20. Several friends – who didn’t realise you could still buy a simple, no-nonsense phone – have asked me about it and plan to get one because they don’t actually want or need a smartphone. A big battery life is worth more than apps, screen inches or megapixels to a lot of people.