Nokia's heart breaks: 105 phones become ISIS's favorite bomb detonator

According to the online version of Fortune magazine, with smartphones dominating the mobile phone market today, feature phones have found it difficult to gain a foothold. However, even in this situation of continuous defeat, some feature phones have found some very alternative ways to survive and "shine" again. For example, Nokia's 105 phone actually served as a bomb detonator for ISIS terrorists.

According to a report released by the British weapons monitoring organization Conflict Armament Research (CAR), the Nokia 105 mobile phone has been the consistent choice of many Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists to make remote-controlled bomb detonators.

This feature phone was released by Nokia at the Mobile World Congress in 2013 and is currently priced at $30 in the United States. Microsoft, the parent company of Nokia's mobile phone business, has praised its super durability and battery life (35 days of standby).

However, these features also make the Nokia 105 a favorite of ISIS terrorists, even though it does not have functions specifically suitable for making bombs.

Jonah Leff, CAR's director of operations, told NBC Radio that the main reason why terrorists like to use Nokia 105 to make bomb detonators is probably "consistency". "Terrorists have used this phone to streamline the process of making bombs."

Explosive devices are the second leading cause of U.S. military casualties in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and are a typical phenomenon of military conflicts in the Middle East.

Terrorists are keen on using consumer electronics to create deadly explosive devices because they are easily accessible and can increase the range of remote controls.

Explosive devices often contain two mobile phones, one built into the bomb and the other used to call the phone in the bomb to detonate it.

Before cell phones became widely adopted, explosive devices often used timer devices such as alarm clocks or digital watches.

The US military once seized 10 mobile phones from Iraqi armed forces. According to Microsoft's disclosure to CAR, these phones were produced in factories in Vietnam, India and China, flowed into Iraq and Yemen through dealers, and finally fell into the hands of terrorists.

The report also traced other components in the explosive devices, such as microchips, to Japan.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.