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In the world of tech, old school does not necessarily mean new cool, but this year sometimes feels like an exception. Perhaps a recent example is the introduction (or more accurately, re-introduction) of Nokia's 3310 -- while it is true that it has been updated, the device has stayed true to its dumb phone roots. And there is nothing wrong with that choice -- sure, feature phones may not be as powerful as most of today’s smartphones, but they are not as delicate, and their batteries can last for a week. But when it comes to connectivity, you can say that feature phones really are in need of a boost, and it appears that Qualcomm can do something about that.
Not many may realize this, but some feature phones actually already come with 4G LTE. A few examples include Kyocera’s DuraXE and the Sonim XP5. But some mobile user out there probably wishes there were more options to choose from. This is where Qualcomm comes in. The chip manufacturer recently unveiled its 205 chip, which comes with the ability to grant dumb phones LTE connectivity.
It is an undeniable fact that more and more people are using smartphones nowadays. But in emerging mobile markets like India, South Africa, and Vietnam, around fifty percent of all cell phones being used are dumb phones, as reported by IDC. Access to 4G, however, is on the rise, even in those emerging markets. IDC has even projected by the end of this decade, 80 percent of all cell phones will be 4G ready.
Thus, it makes sense for feature phones to also join in on the 4G fun. With Qualcomm’s 205 chip, dumb phones get a chance to do just that. These devices don’t need to be as capable as Galaxy smartphones, they just need the ability to have fast connection speeds so that their owners can browse social media, use Google, view or listen to streams, or read online news.
The specifications of Qualcomm’s 205 chip include top connection speeds of 150 mbps for download and 50 mbps for upload, a twin core central processing unit (CPU) clocked at 1.1 GigaHertz, an Adreno graphics processor unit (GPU), support for handsets with 3 megapixel camera on the rear side and 0.3 megapixel camera on the front side, support for VGA display at 480p and 60 fps (frames per second), support for two SIM cards, and support for near field communications (NFC).
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