The forgotten phone: Nokia 1616 from 2009

January 31, 2021 Luisa Rey

A not very important phone, but so recognizable. Nokia launched the Nokia 1616 twelve years ago. This device was characterized by the striking rounding of the housing. What did this device have to offer?

Nokia 1616

In this edition of ‘The forgotten phone’ we go back to the year 2009. Twelve years ago the Nokia 1616 appeared, a cheap phone without unnecessary bells and whistles. It was one in a million, but one that you could recognize quite quickly. The Nokia 1616 had rounded corners and was therefore comfortable in the hand. It was perfect for those with no requirements who really only needed it for texting and calling.

The ‘luxury functions’ with which the Nokia 1616 was equipped were a flashlight and a radio. The flashlight was on the top of the 1616. There was a 1.8 inch display with a resolution of 160 x 128 pixels. Furthermore, the Nokia 1616 T9 offered input for composing an SMS message. Bluetooth and the like were also not available on the Nokia device. If we look at the list of specifications, we also see an 800 mAh battery. According to the manufacturer, this one should last for 35 days.

Nokia did good business with the Nokia 1616 in the prepaid segment. After deducting the call credit, the device only cost you about five euros. A point of criticism was that the device could still crack if you squeezed it a bit harder. A camera could not be found on the device. Like a WAP browser, which was also missing on the phone. In addition, the device was more difficult to operate for people with large fingers.