Now at its third annual Mobile World Congress as the licensed manufacturer of Nokia Mobile devices, HMD Global kicked off its MWC 19 press conference on 24th February by showcasing a new entry-level smartphone – the Nokia 1 Plus.

While they had other devices in tow, the entry-level space is one where HMD Global has placed a lot of emphasis of late, especially as it currently ranks as the number one feature phone brand in the world.

As such, consumers looking to make the move from feature phone to smartphone, will likely turn to a new device like the Nokia 1 Plus.

So what is it sporting?

The Nokia 1 Plus has a 5.45″ IPS LCD display up front, along with a relatively slim aesthetic at 8.5mm thick. To give the device a bit of a different feel to the Nokia 1, HMD Global has gone for a nano-texture design for the back cover.

In terms of cameras, an 8MP lens is found on the rear and 5MP one up front. Neither of those are going to blow mid-range competition out of the water, but given its price tag should offer solid value for money shooting.

As with other recently revealed Nokia Mobile devices, the Nokia 1 Plus is featuring a pure Android OS, and in particular the Go edition of Android 9 (Pie).

We don’t have local pricing and availability information at this stage, but the recommended retail price in other select regions is $99. For those areas, the Nokia 1 Plus will launch sometime in March, coming in black, red and blue colour options.

For now we’ll need to wait and see how much, and indeed when, HMD Global has it slated for South Africa.