Lumia 800 and 710 aren’t the only two devices that Nokia is pushing into India, the Symbian powered Asha series is also said to be launching alongside the Windows Phone offerings from Espoo. Asha series phones run S40 OS and are expected to create an impact in the entry level phone market where Nokia has lost considerable ground to local manufacturers like Micromax, Lava and Maxx.
The official launch date and pricing for Asha series is unconfirmed, but our sources are pointing to a mid-december launch (along with Lumia) and Phonemantra has learnt that these devices could hit the market somewhat earlier and they also have an estimated pricing for the Asha 303. The 303 is said to be priced at Rs 8990 with a best buy offer of Rs 8150. While we couldn’t confirm the pricing, our source was pretty excited about a touchscreen + QWERTY + 1GHz processor costing below Rs 9000.
We are also seeing a lot of excitement for the Asha 200 which is a dual-SIM with QWERTY. Given that Nokia did well with the X1-01, the Dual-SIM factor should help the Asha 200 sell well. C2-03 other Dual-SIM from Nokia in the market currently is reportedly selling in good numbers. While Lumia may or may not lift Nokia immediately, the Asha series sure brings real Asha to the segment that sees maximum volumes.
Nokia Asha 200
The 200 is a Dual SIM phone with full QWERTY keypad. This is a basic phone with 2MP camera and S40 OS. The Micro SD slot and 3.5mm audio jack would ensure that this isn’t considered obsolete and sells well.
Nokia Asha 201
Identical to 200, the 201 is a single SIM device. 2.4″ QWERTY, 2MP camera and 3.5mm audio jack. Just like the 200, the 201 comes in 8 vibrant colors and attracts the youth.
Nokia Asha 300
The 300 is yet another touch & type device with a regular candybar form factor. The 2.4″ display is backed up by 140MB of internal memory and a 5 megapixel camera. In the current line-up, the 300 is the only non QWERTY device.
Nokia Asha 303
The 303 as mentioned above, is the top end of the Asha series. A GHz processor, touchscreen and full QWERTY. The 303 is the most professional looking device of the lot.
