Nokia Does Stop Bullets: Afghan Man Allegedly Owes Life To Budget-Friendly But Super Tough Nokia 301

A Nokia phone is indeed one of the toughest out there. The budget-friendly device proved as much after it allegedly stopped and absorbed the full impact of a bullet in Afghanistan.

Nokia’s older phones have been praised for their indestructibility. While the majority of the mentions of Nokia devices have been something of a joke, an old device launched way back in 2013 proved all the memes are indeed true. An Afghan man owes his life to a clunky Nokia 301 device, claims a Microsoft employee. The Nokia phone meant for a budget-conscious buyer allegedly managed to stop a bullet fired at the man and absorbed its full force. The device was destroyed in the incident, but it did not allow the bullet to pass through, thereby saving the man’s life, reported BGR. Needless to say, Nokia as a company might be steadily fading from the mobile market after Microsoft acquired it, but its devices still manage to live up to the hype.

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A man, who identifies himself as Peter Skillman, shared incredible images on Twitter about a partially destroyed Nokia 301 with a bullet lodged in it. Skillman is currently Microsoft’s general manager of Core UX for Windows Desktop, Tablet, and Phone. Prior to working with Microsoft, he was a part of the Nokia team that designed the Nokia 301. Clearly, he is very proud of the device he helped create.

A Nokia phone I worked on a few years ago saved the life of a man in Afghanistan last week. The embedded bullet…. pic.twitter.com/O2zBxadkDO

— peter skillman ?????? (@peterskillman) October 5, 2016

The surreal images show a still somewhat intact Nokia 301 with a small protrusion in the center. Although the phone is destroyed, one can clearly see a bullet peeking through the destroyed fascia. The tip of the phone barely manages to break the surface of the device, indicating it never made it out of the phone.

Skillman hasn’t shared any more details about the incident. However, the images clearly suggest the bullet would have turned out to be fatal if it had not been for the phone. The images have caused a lot of chatter on social media platforms as people actively reminisced about the good old Nokia days.

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Back in the 90s and at the turn of the century, Nokia ruled the mobile market. There was a device in every price bracket and for each type of user. Although Nokia specialized in simple phones that made mobile communication possible, the company also made some relatively smart devices with the Communicator series. The company was undoubtedly the father of smartphones with the Symbian mobile Operating System (OS). Although there were different types of devices, they were all backed by the Finland-based company’s quality assurance. Phones today barely last a day, but Nokia devices lasted almost an entire week before demanding to be connected to a charger.

welcome Back Nokia, semoga tidak jadi Zombie!! https://t.co/k8cLn3f7ru pic.twitter.com/XKK9RDFSO1

— Mario Devan (@mario_devan) May 29, 2016

The images caused people to start talking about Nokia once again. However, many suspect they are doctored and meant for precisely that purpose: to cause excitement about Nokia. Gary Cutlack at Gizmodo suspects the images could be part of an elaborate publicity stunt to boost sales of the company, especially in the war-torn countries like Afghanistan.

@D_Khunne I did find it eventually. I wish I still used the Nokia 3310, too big to mislay and could hammer tent pegs pic.twitter.com/u6aSABzyqT

— John (@PynchonInPublic) April 25, 2016

Questioned about the authenticity of the photos, Skillman clarified they were sent to him by a co-worker and assured he would try to find the true source. Peculiarly, he shared links about a similar story involving a Nokia X2 that also stopped a bullet.

Incidentally, the story linked by Skillman is true, and the incident happened in 2012. Moreover, a Nokia Lumia 520 had allegedly saved the life of police officer by stopping the bullet fired by armed robbers.

Nokia 3310 Hammer for GTA San Andreas https://t.co/fbWqFvvS1u pic.twitter.com/sZkkwBdpdy

— GTAallcom (@GTAallcom) March 13, 2016

Nokia’s devices may be legendary for their Viking-like ruggedness, durability, and longevity, but phones made by other companies like HTC and Huawei have acted as bullet shields for their owners. While some companies are literally taking a bullet for their customers, others have ended up with fatal flaws that pose a potential threat to the safety of the user, reported Digit.

[Featured Image by Simon Dawson/Getty Images]