They certainly don't make them like that anymore. Been a while though and we're not sure if this is a compliment. It's been long enough since speed dial was invented. And T9 predictive text. Or color displays. So, what's the Nokia 515 doing here?
No really, what's the story. Did someone press the wrong button on the time machine? And where the hell are the Sony Ericsson T-series or Samsung E590? The Motorola RAZR? Gone but not forgotten. Well, the Nokia 515 is here and now.
Nokia 515 official photos
Finnish feature phones are rolling like clockwork but few make it to our homepage - be it a touchscreen-flaunting Asha or a bargain-basement offering with a couple of SIM slots and a flashlight. The Nokia 515 is obviously different, it looks like ten or so years late but it just couldn't care less.
Coming from an old-fashioned candybar phone in a market dominated by massive touchscreens and multi-core CPUs, this kind of confidence borders on arrogance. On the other hand, it's vintage Nokia at its best, with rock-solid build and heartwarming simplicity.
Key features
- Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
- dual-band 3G with HSDPA
- 2.4" 262K-color 240 x 320 TFT display
- Corning Gorilla Glass 2 display protection
- S40 6th edition
- 5MP camera with LED flash, face detection, panorama, QVGA video recording
- 256MB internal storage, 64MB RAM
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- Bluetooth v3.0
- FM Radio
- Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
- Voice commands
- Social apps
- Accelerometer and proximity sensor
- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
- 1200mAh Li-Ion battery
Main disadvantages
- More expensive than some smartphones
- No touchscreen
- No Wi-Fi
- No automatic screen brightness control
- No smart dialing
The Nokia 515 is a phone that seems out of place but one too that will make many people feel at home. What poses an even bigger contradiction is that it's actually expensive for what it is - an ordinary dumbphone with no touchscreen and less apps than the Ashas. At the same time, it's a premium design in the entry-level segment.
It's got features that more than justify the asking price - the aluminum build, Gorilla Glass 2 covered curved screen, a 5MP camera and LED flash. And it sure has the look and feel of a true classic.
Nokia 515 live photos
OK, this could be the phone to get if smartphones seem too complicated, but also one that can see tablets and phablets left at home. Let's see what the Nokia 515 can deliver other than some old-school thrills or the comfort of the familiar.
Modest retail package
The Nokia 515 comes in a rather unassuming, budget-looking blue box made out of recycled paper.
The retail package features the bare minimum
Inside it, you'll find the wall mount charger, Nokia's WH-108 headset with a microphone (no volume controls on that one) as well as a pin for accessing the phone's innards. It would've been nice if Nokia completed the package with a stand-alone microUSB cable or a microSD card slot, but sadly that's not the case.
Design and controls
The Nokia 515 features an extremely clean and minimalist design. It's understated elegance make its back look as upmarket Italian suite. The glossy plastic used for the keys at the front do spoil the impression a bit, but generally the 515 looks much better than anything else in its price range.
The back of the handset is made of a single piece of aluminum with a rubber patch towards the bottom enabling the normal functioning of the radios inside. It's also removable, by sticking the supplied pin into the small hole at the bottom, giving you access to the battery and card slots.
We've got the back version of the Nokia 515 here in the office, but the phone is also available in white with a silver aluminum back. In our mind it looks even better than the black one, but as usual picking between the two is a matter of personal choice.
The Nokia 515 is quite the looker
As we said the front of the phone is its least stylish part, packing a small 2.4" display with a classical alphanumeric keypad below it. The oldschool combination does have a touch of class to it, but we really wish Nokia went with a different material for the keys.
The screen is protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 2, making sure the screen underneath won't be easy to scratch or break if you drop it.
Controls
As we mentioned, Nokia 515 features a classic front configuration - a screen at the top with physical keypad underneath.
The navigation deck is built around a four-way D-pad with a confirmation center key. There's a soft key and a call key on either side. The controls are adequately sized and have good tactile feedback.
The numpad has nicely comfortably keys of good size and the same nice feedback.
The physical keys work as expected
Above the navigation deck is the 2.4" QVGA display, which we'll inspect in greater detail in a few moments. At the very top is the Nokia logo as well as the speaker grille.
The Nokia logo is quite prominent
The left side of the Nokia 515 is bare, while the right holds only the volume rocker. The lack of additional buttons and ports on the sides adds lets the metallic profile of the handset remain smooth and cool looking.
The sides of the phone
The bottom of the 515 continues the clean design trend and holds only the back panel ejector pinhole. The microphone is actually located above the lowest row of the keypad, so there are no other apertures here.
The bottom of the Nokia 515
At the top we see all the connectivity ports - the microUSB port next to the 3.5mm headphone jack.
The top houses all the ports
The 5MP camera with LED flash is the most notable feature on the back. The speaker grille is near the bottom, next to the plastic patch.
The 5MP camera with LED flash
We already discussed the good-looking aluminum back of the phone. It's removable, although the process is a bit odd. You need a pin, which Nokia has supplied in the package, to insert into the at the bottom.
Once you've opened the cover you see the 1200mAh battery. The SIM card and microSD card slot are placed above it, but unfortunately in such a way that neither of them is hotswappable.
The back is removable
Overall, the phone doesn't flex, neither does it bend nor twist. It's a very solid build that will last ages.
Display
The display of the Nokia 515 is a 2.4-incher of QVGA resolution. This adds up to the very modest 167ppi density, which however isn't that bad for the entry level class.
Image quality is decent with contrast levels good for the price range.
| Display test | 50% brightness | 100% brightness | ||||
| Black, cd/m2 | White, cd/m2 | Black, cd/m2 | White, cd/m2 | |||
| Nokia 515 | - | - | - | 0.56 | 396 | 713 |
| LG Nexus 5 | 0.31 | 298 | 948 | 0.54 | 526 | 967 |
| LG G2 | 0.10 | 149 | 1522 | 0.45 | 667 | 1495 |
| LG Optimus G | 0.14 | 197 | 1445 | 0.33 | 417 | 1438 |
| Sony Xperia Z1 | - | - | - | 0.38 | 580 | 1513 |
| Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4 | 0 | 201 | ∞ | 0 | 404 | ∞ |
| HTC One | 0.13 | 205 | 1580 | 0.42 | 647 | 1541 |
| Oppo Find 5 | 0.17 | 176 | 1123 | 0.51 | 565 | 1107 |
As far as sunlight legibility is concerned, we are happy to report the Nokia 515 does very decently beating far more expensive handsets in our test. You won't have any problems reading messages or check out who's calling you even in direct sunlight.
Handling
The Nokia 515 is pleasantly joyful to hold. You will have absolutely no trouble operating it with one hand and its aluminum back provides a great feel in the hand.
The Nokia 515 held in hand.