The new Nokia 7230 is an affordable basic handset that packs in more features than your average entry-level phone.

It’s a simple and stylish slider phone that manages to look more expensive than its $149 price tag would suggest, thanks to the use of a faux stainless steel finish. The 2.4-inch QVGA colour screen is also an attractive addition. The phone slides out to reveal the T9 numeric keypad, which is thankfully well spaced out and easy-to-use - perfect for anyone with larger fingers.

As mentioned above, the Nokia 7230’s feature set is pretty impressive for a sub-$150 mobile phone. On the media side of things, the list includes a 3-megapixel camera plus built-in music player with support for MP3, AAC and WMA files. Nokia has also thrown in a 3.5mm headphone socket and external speaker grille, depending on how you want to play your music, plus a microSD slot for storage (a 2GB memory card is even included in the box to get you going). Rounding out the package is Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP to share your media or connect wireless headphones.

Buy a cheap Nokia phone on sale in Australia

By Caroline Warnes