A Blast from the Past — Welcome to a «Time-Machine» - Nokia 515

The Finnish phone giant knows that there's still plenty of life in the feature phone market and that's why it is still releasing handsets like the Nokia 515 - not everyone cares if their phone has the power to fling furious feathered fowl.
The newly-announced Nokia 515 handset, which runs the company's Series 40 software, emphasises why there's still life in the more modest of mobile devices. The sleek, one piece anodised aluminium device features an old-school alphanumeric keyboard and Corning Gorilla Glass 2 for those still adverse to touchscreen smartphone devices.

The 2.4-inch screen is of low resolution at 320 x 240 pixels, but the camera is a relatively decent 5-megapixels with an LED flash. The camera also features a voice-guided self portrait feature, while there's also HSPA connectivity, microSD and 38 days of battery life on standby.

Thankfully, Series 40 isn't completely devoid of smartphone-style apps. The Nokia 515 comes with YouTube and WhatApp apps built in. There's also a Nokia Xpress web browser. The phone itself is a solid build, tough strong and robust with a great feel and feels like a high end device in hand. 
 The device is small compared to whats out there now but this is the norm for a candybar type device and still popular today with lots of people.
The back of the device is smooth with a non textured surface showing the camera and flash, at the end you can see the speaker grill and what appears to be a padded area on the bottom it’s it’s actually metal, this here is the antenna area. The bottom of the decide holds the key to removing the back cover which is a new design and somewhat odd, and many find it difficult to open, we have done a quick video on this a while back on how to remove easily. The right hand side of the device holds the volume toggle, hard to see but the keys are black, like the handset, and the keys are plastic not metal, but work rather well and don’t fell too flush or recessed in the housing.



Key features:
Corning glass
Bluetooth v3.0
FM Radio
3.5 mm jack
Social Apps
256 MB Internal memory 64 RAM expanding up to 32 GB with micro sd
Runs S40 6th edition.
Accelerometer and proximity sensor
1200 mAh battery.



Over all the device is fairly good for the average user that’s not looking for anything to fancy, the camera is a fixed focus 5MP with LED flash. There is plenty to do for your average not heavy into tech user and it provides all you need, the radio and music player is quite good and gives a nice sound considering the price, it may be a little overpriced in ireland but my personal thoughts would be 99 euros rather than the €129 it’s selling for, but your getting a premium feel and quality build.
 
Web browsing is fine not lightning quick but again enough to get you tru your needs if they are limited. For a budget phone it does well and kept me happy when trying it out.
Nokia brings the 515 for those who want the latest features without getting entangled in the complexities of Windows or Android. Nokia has always been a leader in this segment, and it reasserts its superiority with unmatched build quality, stunning looks, and a great display on one hand and great camera and connectivity features on the other.
Though feature phones aren't expected to sport front cameras, considering the 3G connectivity, it could have been included. Yet this is hardly a shortfall in a device which otherwise comes loaded with features and stunning looks. Indeed, these make it a must buy for anyone seeking a feature phone that's a notch above the rest.
Mariya Syvayeva