Yours truly just returned after a whirlwind trip to New Delhi where Nokia had its international launch of its new Asha Series handset – the Asha 501. The launch event in itself was huge and was unlike any other I had seen happen in India. I would be talking more about that in a separate blog post – but let’s talk about the Asha 501 here first. I am pretty sure you might have read about the phone and the specifications already. If you for some reason haven’t here’s a quick low down on the same.
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Dimensions: 99.2 x 58 x 12.1 mm; 98 grams
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Camera: 3.2 MP
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Single SIM standby time: up to 48 days
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Dual SIM standby time: up to 26 days
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Talk time: up to 17 hours
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Additional memory of 4GB (card included in box), expandable up to 32GB
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Forty free EA Games worth €75 downloadable from Nokia Store
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Available colours: Bright Red, Bright Green, Cyan, Yellow, White and Black
The phone would be available in June with a suggested retail price of $99. That translates to around Rs. 6000 or the nearabouts here in India.
I will now list the top 5 reasons why I think the Asha 501 should make a sensible buy for people who are on the lookout for a no frills, basic device.
1. The Design:
I know that design is not up there – or a priority when you are on the lookout for a handset on a shoestring budget, But Nokia seems to be in a mood to make you think otherwise. The Asha 501 has a svelte design and is quite a looker for something that is priced on the better side of the Rs. 10,000 mark. The straight lines, the unibody look and the matte colors make it look more expensive than it actually is. Which you know, is not a bad thing at all.
2. The Freebies
When was the last time you bought something just because of the freebies you got with it? Probably never. It;s quite stupid a thing to do in most cases. Well, the Asha 501 seems to be an exception here. Let’s see what we have on the offing here. Apart from the $75 worth of games and stuff from EA which Nokia would be offering with this phone, thanks to the tie up Nokia announced with Facebook and leading mobile operators in India, Facebook access on this phone would be made absolutely free. Not exciting enough? Well, its not meant for you anyway. Consider a college going kid who belongs to a family with tight control over the kids mobile expenses. Until now, data usage on mobile phones meant a steady decrease in balance or the need to top-up repeatedly. Considering the fact that most youngsters use Facebook as their primary social networking platform, it is quite plausible that free access to Facebook means a lot for them. Well, this phone has it!
3. The Data Compressing Browser
If free access to Facebook wasn’t enough to help you cut down on your data usage, the Nokia 501 also comes with an enhanced version of Nokia’s famous XpressBrowser. Like I said, this one happens to be an updated version which uses what Nokia calls “cloud compression technology” to cut down on data costs and make browsing faster. In fact, Nokia claims a 90 percent reduction in data usage with this browser. That is one claim we would love to test out ourselves!
4. The Battery!
Battery life on a phone is nowadays a key concern for most people out there. Thanks to the advent of super affordable Android powered handsets, people who used to spend under Rs.10,000 on phones too have started to become very concerned about the battery life of their phones. Why? Because unlike phones of the yesteryears bought for the same price range which used to last days on a single charge, Android devices would barely see you through an entire day. It is at that time that Nokia comes up with something that claims a ridiculous sounding 17 hours of talk time! For once, we believe you Nokia and hope this kind of talk time results can be replicated in the real world. I would still be happy if the actual talk time is a few hours lesser!
5. The Operating System
If you haven’t noticed yet, the Asha 501 runs a new version of Nokia’s Asha platform. Designed on the lines of the S40 platform, the Asha OS packs in quite a punch and will have the option to install applications as and when new apps are released for it. Nokia is trying hard to evict developer Interest in the product and it is plausible that many S40 apps would be ported to it as well. Nokia’s Here Map’s too would be made available for the platform. Also, the Asha OS derives heavily from Nokia’s shelved Meego platform which I am sure would find many takers.
Overall, for the price you would pay for this device, the Asha 501 is sure to offer you a satisfactory ownership experience. Of course, there are Android powered smartphones that are being offered at its price range – but the user experience on such devices leave a lot to be desired from what I have seen all this while. On the other hand, the Asha 501 seems to be a no frills device which is aimed to helping people get things done – minus the bells and whistles!
