Another entrant joins the line up of Nokia’s most affordable range of Smartphones series popularly known as, “Nokia Asha” series named as, “Nokia Asha 501” in the Indian market. It has been in the news for a quite while as, “Nokia Asha 501” is the first mobile handset in the new family of, “Asha smartphones” running Nokia’s new Asha Operating system with Swipe UI.

Nokia Asha 501

With the launch of Nokia Asha 501 and some of the other newly launched handsets by the other leading competitor serving in gadgets industry worldwide like Samsung, Sony and LG, launch of Nokia 501 embarks a tough fight in the budget constraint segment. Shifting shaft towards it’s specifications, Nokia Asha 501 flaunts 3.0 inches QVGA touchscreen display with 320 x 240 of pixels resolution with hardened glass. This hardened glass is fitted by the company in this device to ensure the safety of the screen from dents and scratches. However, a bit low screen size as compare to the other launched Asha smartphones though it looks quite eye candy though atleast 3.2 inches display size was anticipated as we it standard in most of the newly launched budget devices. Dealing with it’s Platform dependency, Nokia Asha 501 sails on all new Nokia Asha Software Platform with Swipe UI powered with a Single core processor running at a clock speed of 1GHz.

Getting a glance towards it’s overall dimensions, it looks a bit smaller and lighter in weight. However, it weighs nearly 98 gms and measures 99.2 x 58 x 12.1 mm in terms of overall dimensions. Enumerating it’s Imaging Optics, this device comes only with a primary camera rated at 3.2 MEGAPIXEL which enable you to click and record a nice quality of photos and videos. This device supports Dual Sim with Dual Stand by technology with one slot capable of hot swap. Apart from the Dual Sim capability it also offered with Single Sim version. Enumerating it’s storage specifications, this device is equipped with 128MB of internal memory in the box which can be easily expanded up to 4GB via micro SD card slot.

Nokia has surpassed expectations of what’s achievable in the sub-100 USD phone category with a new Asha handset that is unlike any other, with design cues from Lumia and a mix of features, services and affordability that is valued by price-conscious buyers,” said Neil Mawston, executive director, Global Wireless Practice, Strategy Analytics. “This is a welcome addition to the market and a refreshing option for consumers looking to upgrade from feature phones.”

The available colours, which are also replaceable shells, come in Bright Red, Lemon Yellow, Parrot Green, Ice Blue, White and Black. Many of the most popular applications are already available or in development for the Nokia Asha platform, including CNN, eBuddy, ESPN, Facebook, Foursquare, Line, LinkedIn, Nimbuzz, Pictelligent, The Weather Channel, Twitter, WeChat, World of Red Bull and games from Electronic Arts, Gameloft, Indiagames, Namco-Bandai and Reliance Games. WhatsApp and other key partners continue to explore new Asha.

Briefing it’s Connectivity specifications, Nokia Asha 501 support 2G, WiFi, Bluetooth and FM Radio. To continue the enjoyment ready all the time company has equipped this device wit 1200 mAh of battery which company claims that it will deliver 17 hours of talktime and up to 48 days of standby time, dual SIM standby time up to 26 days.

Quick View of Nokia Asha 501 Specifications:

• 3.0-inch QVGA 320 x 240 pixels display with hardened glass

• 1 GHz processor

• 3.2MP camera

• Dimensions: 99.2 x 58 x 12.1 mm; Weight: 98 g

• 128 MB of internal memory with 4GB micro SD card provided in the box

• Dual SIM(with one slot capable of hot swap), with 2G, WiFi, Bluetooth and FM Radio

• Nokia Asha software platform with Swipe UI

• Available colours: Bright Red, Bright Green, Cyan, Yellow, White and Black

• 1200 mAh battery with up to 17 hours of talktime and up to 48 days of standby

The Nokia Asha 501 will start shipping in June in 90 countries on 60 operators. It will cost $99 before taxes and subsidies for the single-SIM version. In India, you can grab Dual Sim version for Rs. 5300 (approx). Nokia also announced a global partnership with Facebook, saying that Asha 501 users on Airtel and MTNL will get free access to the social networking site.