Nokia Unveils Three New Low-Cost Asha Phones
Nokia unveiled its Asha Touch family of mobile devices, rolling three new "smarphone-like" models into the market, the company announced today.
Nokia today expanded its Asha line of touch-enabled devices, with three new "smartphone-like" models.
The Nokia Asha 305, 306, and 311 expand the phone line, which was , bringing the Asha count to a round 10 devices, available in more than 130 markets.
All three phones include 3-inch touch screens, but each offers different features.
The Asha 311 (left) features a 1-GHz processor, 3.5G Internet capabilities, and a 3.2-megapixel camera, making it the fastest of the new phones. Plus, it comes pre-loaded with 15 levels of Angry Birds. It has 256MB of memory, expandable up to 32GB via a micro-SD card.
The Asha 305 (below right) includes a 2-megapixel camera, as well as Nokia's "Easy Swap dual SIM," which allows you swap out SIM cards in case more than one person is using the device. Its sister phone, the Asha 306, is a single SIM model, with the addition of video streaming. Both have 64MB of memory, expandable up to 32GB.
"These phones deliver on what young, urban people value most — a great-looking device," Mary T. McDowell, Nokia's executive vice president for mobile phones, said in a statement.
They also provide "an intuitive and affordable experience for connecting to the internet, to their friends, and to a world of entertainment, web apps and content," she said.
Nokia added a gaming incentive to its new line of phones, offering 40 free EA game downloads with the purchase of an Asha handset.
"The mass-market is a competitive segment, but we believe Nokia's upgraded Asha portfolio has included an attractive package that can enable consumers to have lower running costs, taking advantage of things like its compressed browser and a long-life battery," said Neil Mawston, executive director of devices research at Strategy Analytics.
No word if the devices are coming to the U.S. But the Asha 305 is expected to ship in the second quarter of 2012 for about $85; the 306 and 311 can be expected in the third quarter priced at $93 and $121, respectively, according to Nokia.
When Nokia unveiled the Asha lineup last year (via the Asha 300, 303, and 200) it pushed the series as a low-cost alternative for users in emerging markets, complete with a special data-compressing Web browser. For more, see in February and the slideshow below.