Nokia accelerates the journey to mobile internet with the introduction of Asha Touch device range
Fun, colorful range of touch screen phones will bring fast mobile web browsing, social networks and gaming to millions
Bangkok, Thailand - Nokia has today taken another step towards connecting the next billion consumers by unveiling the Asha Touch family of mobile devices, taking the full touch experience to new price points. The three new phone models - the Nokia Asha 305, Nokia Asha 306 and Nokia Asha 311 - further expand the successful Asha family, first introduced in October 2011. Today, there are 10 Asha devices available in more than 130 markets, providing young, social consumers with a choice of phones to match their own lifestyle.
These latest phones have been designed to provide an incredibly rich, smartphone-like experience to consumers who want to be set free from excessive data consumption costs and short battery life. The Nokia Asha 305, Asha 306 and Asha 311 offer a new, fully re-designed touch user interface, combining the proven ease-of-use from Nokia's heritage with digital design innovations specifically fit for the purpose.
The beautifully crafted Nokia Asha 311 is a fast and fluid 3.5G capacitive touchscreen device, powered by a 1GHz processor to provide a great internet experience. The bright and edgy Nokia Asha 305 is a fun and affordable phone, featuring the exclusive Easy Swap dual SIM. Its sister, the Nokia Asha 306, is a single SIM model, and becomes Nokia's most affordable Wi-Fi handset to date.
"By introducing the Asha Touch phones to the market, we're accelerating our commitment to connect the next billion consumers," said Mary T. McDowell, Nokia's executive vice president for Mobile Phones. "These phones deliver on what young, urban people value most -- a great-looking device; and an intuitive and affordable experience for connecting to the internet, to their friends, and to a world of entertainment, web apps and content."
Great for fast, affordable mobile internet and gaming entertainment
The new devices take full advantage of the Nokia Browser 2.0, a major recent update which uses Nokia's cloud technology to reduce data consumption by up to 90%, meaning that consumers can enjoy faster and cheaper internet access. Web sites load up to three times faster in comparison to devices without cloud-accelerated browsing, making it simple for users to find and select from more than 10,000 web apps available for download. They deliver a richer and more interactive consumer experience whilst using less data than a stand-alone internet connected app.
Consumers can easily stay connected with friends and family at the touch of a button as well as share files and links across their social networks. Furthermore, the Nokia Browser's Download Manager feature helps consumers to manage external content easily, saving music, video or pictures on a memory card, while surfing the internet.
The Asha family is also getting positive support from developers and consumers. Nokia Store has just broken the 5 billion downloads landmark. From January to April, 42% of all content downloaded from Nokia Store was delivered to Asha and other Nokia devices based on the Java ecosystem. Just one year ago, that number was 10%. Also, there are 410 Nokia developers with apps which have achieved more than 1 million downloads. India Games and Pico Brothers just passed 100 million.
As well as providing a great, social online experience, the Nokia Asha 305, Asha 306 and Asha 311 have been created with entertainment in mind. All users will receive an exclusive gift of 40 EA games to download for free* and keep forever. These games range across action, arcade and sports, and include titles such as Tetris®, Bejeweled®, Need for Speed(TM) The Run and EA SPORTS(TM) FIFA 12. The Nokia Asha 311 also comes with 15 levels of Angry Birds pre-loaded onto the phone, perfect for making the most of the touchscreen and 1GHz processor.
"Nokia is taking another interesting step forward in connecting consumers to the Internet, seeking to improve their experience through a new touch user-interface that is allowing the company to compete in new mass-market price bands. 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", says Neil Mawston, Executive Director of devices research at Strategy Analytics. "It is also interesting to see how Nokia is promoting its Asha strategy with global launches taking place in important high-growth markets such as Asia. Nokia resonates well there and the response from local consumers is likely to be positive".
Product details
The Nokia Asha 311 is a colourful, compact touch screen device that comes with all the features you'd expect for a fun and easy mobile experience. It boasts a bright and colourful, scratch resistant capacitive glass screen with polarization filters ensuring users get the best experience from the unique and visually entertaining user interface. The Nokia Asha 311 also features a 3.2MP camera and pre-installed Nokia Maps, in addition to the 15 level pre-bundled version of Angry Birds.
The pre-loaded social client makes accessing Facebook, Twitter and many other global social networks simple while Nokia Browser makes using mobile internet fast and affordable. It also includes the most popular messaging services. "WhatsApp has a clear vision of creating a reliable and easy to use cross-platform messaging application that enables people to stay in touch with their family and friends from all around the world," said, Brian Acton, Co-Founder of WhatsApp Inc. "By partnering with Nokia whose worldwide reach in mobile is well established, WhatsApp becoming available for the Asha Touch devices will enable us to further realize our core mission".
The Nokia Asha 305 is a fun and entertaining Easy Swap dual SIM phone, helping users make the most of their phone while retaining control of their costs. The phone features a bright and colorful 3" WQVGA resistive touch screen along with Bluetooth and Dual Band connectivity. Forty EA games are available for download with every phone as well as a 2MP camera, Nokia Maps and the revolutionary Nokia Browser which helps significantly lower data costs.
The Nokia Asha 306 is the sister device to the Nokia Asha 305. Along with all the great features that come with its sister, such as bright and colorful, 3" WQVGA resistive touch screen and 40 EA games for download - a Nokia exclusive offer, the Nokia Asha 306 also provides WLAN, enabling users to stay connected while on the move. It also supports video streaming through both GPRS and WLAN, meaning this handset truly is a fun way to stay in touch.
The estimated retail price for Nokia Asha 305 is EUR 63 and it's expected to start shipping in the second quarter of 2012. The estimated retail price for Nokia Asha 306 is EUR 68. The Nokia Asha 311 has an estimated retail price of EUR 92. Both devices are expected to start shipping in the third quarter of 2012. Above mentioned prices exclude taxes and subsidies.
The new devices images are available at Nokia.com/press.
*Data costs may apply.
More Olympic madness as O2 loses venue name for Games - Gigaom.com
Except when it doesn’t.
With the London Olympics just around the corner, O2′s naming rights are being whipped away from it as the International Olympic Committee continues its quest to try and be the craziest organization the planet.
Not content with trying to ban user-generated content of The Games and policing the use of phrases like “London” and “2012″ in the same sentence, official Olympic literature has now erased any reference to the name of The O2 and called it “the North Greenwich Arena” instead.
It sounds a little odd, but in fact there is some logic. According to the IOC, it’s all about keeping the Games free of corporate blemish: the rules state that the names of venues should remain free from sponsorship.
And that would all make sense… if it were not for the fact that the Olympics are horribly tarnished from top to bottom with corporate branding.
Seems fairly hypocritical to me.
In fact, everywhere you turn, the Olympics are festooned with crass sponsorships. The official mobile company of London 2012? Samsung. The official sculpture? The Arcelor-Mittal Orbit. Oh, and don’t turn up wanting to use a Mastercard at a cash machine, because all of the non-Visa ATMs at Olympic venues are being closed as part of the card company’s sponsorship deal.
This Millennium Dome deal is not a shock for O2: it knew about it back in 2005 when it signed the deal. But that doesn’t make it any less silly to apply these branding rules in such an odd, arbitrary way.
Olympic handcuffs copyright anbibyte / Shutterstock
Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.
Nokia expands Asha smartphone range - Mobile Entertainment
Continues focus on the low end market with a new Symbian-powered touchscreen trio.
Just three weeks ago, Nokia revealed a new social feature phone range with a special focus on 'urban youngsters'.
Now, the Finnish OEM has unveiled the Asha Touch series - building on the existing Asha range – comprising the 305, the 306, and the 311, all of which feature Nokia's data compression browser.
The 311 is the most powerful model, with 1GHz speeds and HSPA access, the 305 is dual-SIM device, while the single-SIM 306 is the 'most affordable wi-fi handset to date'.
Mary T. McDowell, executive VP for mobile phones, Nokia, said: "These phones deliver on what young, urban people value most -- a great-looking device; and an intuitive and affordable experience for connecting to the internet, to their friends, and to a world of entertainment, web apps and content."
The 305 has a €63 RRP and a Q2 release, while the 306 and 311 have respective €68 and €92 price tags and both are set for a Q3 launch.
Article continues belowAdvertisement
Nokia added that 42 per cent of downloaded Nokia Store content was via Asha and other Java-based devices between January and April, suggesting there is still an appetite for its low end designs.
Nokia unveils Asha 311, 305 and 306 touch phones - thinkdigit.com
Nokia has announced three new Asha phones – Asha 305, Asha 306 and Asha 311 – with large touchscreens. Nokia says its new Asha phones, based on S40 operating system, will provide smartphone-like experience to consumers, who want to reduce data costs and larger battery life. The Nokia Asha 305 is expected to ship in the second quarter of 2012, while the Asha 306 and Asha 311 will arrive in the third quarter of 2012.
"By introducing the Asha Touch phones to the market, we're accelerating our commitment to connect the next billion consumers," said Mary T. McDowell, Nokia's executive vice president for Mobile Phones. "These phones deliver on what young, urban people value most -- a great-looking device; and an intuitive and affordable experience for connecting to the internet, to their friends, and to a world of entertainment, web apps and content."
The Nokia Asha 311 has a 3-inch capacitive touchscreen. It has a 1GHz processor, which makes the device pretty fast for a basic feature phone. The device, Nokia says, takes full advantage of the Nokia Browser 2.0, which uses Nokia's cloud technology to reduce data consumption by up to 90 percent. The device also features a 3.2 MP camera and pre-installed Nokia Maps.
The device comes pre-bundled with 15-level version of Angry Birds. The phone comes pre-loaded with global social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. It also has WhatsApp.
The device has built-in storage of 256MB, with support up to 32GB via microSD card. For connectivity, the device supports HSPA, Bluetooth 2.1 and USB 2.0. The device is available in multiple colours - Dark Grey, Rose Red, Blue, Brown and Sand White. Check out full specifications of the Nokia Asha 311 here.
The device is priced at EUR 92, which is roughly Rs. 6,367.
The Nokia Asha 305 is a dual-SIM phone and features a 3-inch WQVGA resistive touch screen. It has a 2MP camera. The device comes with a BL-4U 1,110 mAh battery, which is rated to deliver 14 hours of talk time and 528 hours on standby mode. The device comes with Nokia Maps and the Nokia Browser 2.0. Check out full specifications of Nokia Asha 305 here.
The device is priced at EUR 63, which is about Rs. 4,360
Nokia says the Asha 306 is the sister device to the Asha 305. The device also features a 3-inch WQVGA resistive touch screen. The Nokia Asha 306 also provides WLAN, enabling users to stay connected while on the move. It also supports video streaming through both GPRS and WLAN. The device sports a 2MP camera. The device comes with a BL-4U 1,110 mAh battery, which is rated to deliver 14 hours of talk time 600 hours on standby mode. Check out full specifications of Nokia Asha 306 here.
The device is priced at EUR 68, which is nearly Rs. 4,706.
Nokia unveils trio of touchscreen feature phones - Computerworld
IDG News Service - Nokia has launched three new advanced feature phones with touchscreens offering a "smartphone-like" experience, the company said on Wednesday.
Nokia is trying to make the low end of its portfolio more competitive: During the first three months of 2012 it suffered not just because slow sales of its Windows and Symbian-based smartphones, but also because its feature phone portfolio hadn't kept up with the competition's.
The company needs to do a better job with the feature-phone business, CEO Stephen Elop said during a conference call announcing the first quarter results, and vowed to launch full touch products.
Elop has kept that promise, adding the Asha 305, Asha 306 and Asha 311 to Nokia's portfolio. All are based on the S40 platform.
The Asha 305 and Asha 306 both have a 3-inch screen, a 2-megapixel camera and GPRS connectivity.
In addition, the Asha 305 has Nokia's Easy Swap Dual SIM technology, which allows SIM cards to be swapped without opening up or turning the phone off, according to Nokia.
The Asha 306 also has Wi-Fi, which at US$93 before local taxes or operator subsidies is Nokia's cheapest WLAN phone to date, it said.
However, the Asha 305 is the cheapest of the three new phones at $85 before local taxes or operator subsidies.
The Asha 311 is the most advanced of the three. The HSPA phone is powered by a 1GHz processor and has a 3-inch display, a 3.2-megapixel camera and a micro-SD card slot. The phone will cost $121 before local taxes or operator subsidies.
On the software side, all future owners of the three phones will receive 40 games from Electronic Arts to download for free, excluding the cost of the data connection, according to Nokia. The games range across action, arcade and sports, and include titles such as Tetris, Bejeweled, Need for Speed: The Run and FIFA 12, Nokia said.
Users can also browse the Web and choose between a number of options for email and chat.
The Asha 305 will be available in the second quarter, while the Asha 306 and Asha 311 are arriving in the third quarter.
Nokia has to compete with a growing number of cheap Android-based smartphones.
For example, Vodafone recently launched the Smart II, an Android phone with a 832MHz processor, a 3.2-inch screen, a 3.2-megapixel camera and a micro-SD card slot. It can access the Internet using Wi-Fi and HSPA, and track the user's position with A-GPS. The phone runs Android 2.3 and will first go on sale in the U.K., costing APS70 (US$108) with a pay-as-you-go subscription.
No comments:
Post a Comment