Nokia 207, 208 are its best budget 3G phones yet

Nokia does a lot to upset us, such as releasing brick shaped Lumia’s into the wild. It also does a lot to make us feel alright with the world, such as releasing the 3G-powered Nokia 207 and Nokia 208 in dual and single-sim flavors (the phones now support micro-SIM only). The phones will cost roughly US$68, will come in red, cyan, white, black and will ship Q3 2013.

Nokia’s calling the 207 and 208 contemporary designs for its classic “candybar” range of phones. These are ultra-cheap phones with a 3G kick and for many, this will be their first 3G-enabled phone, or so Nokia says. It also says that each phone will have a month of standby time. That’s something special indeed.

Since both phones are so closely related, here’s what’s awesome about them: There’s 3.5G HSPA internet paired with the Nokia Xpress browser, the default web portal for any Nokia running Series 40. Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp and Youtube come preinstalled and most other apps (Foursquare, CNN) are available on the Nokia Store.

There’s also Mail for Exchange, so all Outlook mails, contacts and calendar entries will magically sync with the 207 and 208. Both phones also support tethering and with a 3G connection, you’ve instantly got a portable internet solution that costs less than some USB modems.

The 207 and 208 have splash proof shells that can be changed at will. Nokia’s also using it’s polycarbonate powers on the bodies of the phone, so if there’s a scratch it won’t discolour the interchangeable shells.

Here’s the tech specs for the phones, with the only difference between the 207 and 208 being that the 207 is sans-camera.

• Networks: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 WCDMA 850 or 900/1900 or 2100*Size/Weight: 114.2 x 50.9 x 12.8mm / 89.63g (Nokia 207); 90.59g (Nokia 208)
• Display: 2.4” QVGA
• Battery: 1020mAh
• Camera:1.3 MP (Nokia 208)
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 3.0 with Slam sharing, micro USB, 3.5mm AV connector, AHJ headphone support, Easy Swap Dual SIM (Nokia 208 Dual SIM)
• Memory: Up to 256 MB flash; SD card support up to 32GB