For Europeans, Nokia's revamped 'brick' is a throwback to a simpler, more innocent age, when phones were for speaking and reading on the train meant buying a newspaper. In many cases, the cost of both handsets and data is the main factor constraining smart-phone sales. But Africans also like the legendary durability of the 'brick' and its weeks-long battery - important considerations in countries where insurance and electricity cannot be taken for granted. In front of her on a street-side stall sat an array of Chinese-branded smart-phones alongside small Nokia handsets that in Europe would belong to a telephony museum. During a recent meeting with Reuters in Johannesburg, a senior Zimbabwean intelligence agent laid out on the table his three battered old Nokia handsets - the price he pays to ensure his movements and messages go undetected.

Source: The Star June 01, 2017 07:41 UTC