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Nokia Asha series

Nokia Asha is a discontinued series of feature phones and low-end smartphones produced and marketed by Nokia. It was marketed from late 2011 until 2014, by which time it was under Microsoft Mobile ownership. The range consisted of QWERTY keyboard, full touchscreen, and hybrid 'touch and type' handsets. Most Asha phones run Series 40 while from 2013 full touch models run the derived Nokia Asha platform.

History

The Nokia Asha range was announced at Nokia World 2011 on 26 October 2011 alongside the Nokia Lumia. Asha was developed for emerging markets with the goal of connecting the "next billion" to the Internet, as cited by then Nokia CEO Stephen Elop.[1][2] The name "Asha" comes from the Hindi word meaning "hope".[3]

According to The Verge in September 2013, Nokia had a project referred to as Asha on Linux and also as "MView"—a reference to Mountain View. The project used a fork of Android on a low-end handset to maximize margins. The project resulted in the Nokia X family of devices, unveiled at MWC 2014. It was one of two known Android projects at the company, the other was running the OS on high-end Lumia hardware.[4]

On 3 September 2013, Microsoft announced its purchase of Nokia's mobile device business, with the deal closing on 25 April 2014. The company previously announced an intent to use Asha as an "on-ramp" to the Windows Phone platform,[5][6] but in a company memo released in July 2014, it was announced that as part of cutbacks, Microsoft would end the Asha and Android-based Nokia X range entirely, in favor of solely producing Lumia Windows Phones and Nokia-branded "feature phone" products.[7]

On 11 January 2018, HMD Global acquired the Asha trademark.[8][9]

List of devices

Below are the mobile phones in the Asha range.

The Asha 305 and Asha 311 models are known as the first generation of Asha Full Touch phones; the second generation is the Asha 50x line. All devices up to the Asha 50x series run the Nokia domestic operating system with Series 40 UI platform, also known as S40. The Asha 501 (released in May 2013), Asha 500, Asha 502, Asha 503 and Asha 230 (announced on 14 February 2014) are powered by the Nokia Asha platform, which builds on S40 and Smarterphone.[10][11]

Model Date announced SIM config Input method Data bearers Wi-Fi Display size RAM Camera Operating system HERE Maps

(note: none of the Asha devices have GPS)

Predecessor(s) or similar earlier models (if applicable)
Asha 200 26 Oct 2011 Dual[12] QWERTY EDGE, GPRS No 2.4" 32 MB 2 MP Series 40 Nokia X1-01

Nokia X2-01

Asha 201 26 Oct 2011 Single[13] QWERTY EDGE, GPRS No 2.4" 32 MB 2 MP Series 40 Nokia X1-01

Nokia X2-01

Asha 202 27 Feb 2012 Dual Touch and type EDGE, GPRS No 2.4" 16 MB 2 MP Series 40 Some markets[14]
Asha 203 27 Feb 2012 Single Touch and type EDGE, GPRS No[15] 2.4" 16 MB 2 MP Series 40 Some markets
Asha 205 29 Nov 2012 Single and dual QWERTY DTM (MSC 12),
EDGE, GPRS 		No[16] 2.4" 16 MB 0.3 MP Series 40 Nokia Asha 200 (dual SIM version)

Nokia Asha 201 (single SIM version)[17]

Asha 210 24 Apr 2013 Single and dual QWERTY DTM (MSC 12),
EDGE, GPRS 		Yes 2.4" 32 MB 2 MP Series 40 Yes
Asha 230 24 Feb 2014 Single and dual Capacitive touchscreen EDGE, GPRS No 2.8" 64 MB 1.3 MP Nokia Asha platform
Asha 300 26 Oct 2011 Touch and type HSDPA Cat9 (10.2 Mbit/s)
HSUPA Cat5 (2.0 Mbit/s) 		No 2.4" 128 MB 5 MP Series 40 Nokia C3-01
Asha 302 27 Feb 2012 QWERTY HSDPA Cat10 (14.4 Mbit/s)
HSUPA Cat6 (5.76 Mbit/s)		 Yes 2.4" 128 MB 3.2 MP Series 40 Nokia C3-00
Asha 303 26 Oct 2011 QWERTY / Touch and type HSDPA Cat10 (14.4 Mbit/s)
HSUPA Cat6 (5.76 Mbit/s) 		Yes 2.6" 128 MB 3.2 MP Series 40 Yes Nokia X3-02
Asha 305 6 Jun 2012 Dual Resistive touch screen EDGE, GPRS No 3.0" 32 MB 2 MP Series 40 Yes
Asha 306 6 Jun 2012 Resistive touch screen EDGE, GPRS Yes 3.0" 32 MB 2 MP Series 40 Yes
Asha 308 13 Feb 2013 Dual Capacitive touch screen EDGE, GPRS No 3.0" 64 MB 2 MP Series 40 Yes Nokia Asha 305
Asha 309 25 Sep 2012 Capacitive touch screen EDGE, GPRS Yes 3.0" 64 MB 2 MP Series 40 Yes Nokia Asha 306
Asha 310 13 Feb 2013 Dual Capacitive touch screen EDGE, GPRS Yes 3.0" 64 MB 2 MP Series 40 Yes
Asha 311 6 Jun 2012 Capacitive touch screen w/ Gorilla Glass HSDPA Cat10 (14.4 Mbit/s)
HSUPA Cat6 (5.76 Mbit/s) 		Yes 3.0" 128 MB 3.2 MP Series 40 Yes Nokia 5250[18]
Asha 500 22 Oct 2013 Single and dual Capacitive touch screen GPRS, EDGE Yes 2.8" 64 MB 2 MP Nokia Asha platform
Asha 501 9 May 2013[19] Single and dual Capacitive multi-point touch display EDGE, GPRS Yes 3.0" 64 MB 3.2 MP Nokia Asha platform Yes
Asha 502 22 Oct 2013 Dual Capacitive touch screen GPRS, EDGE Yes 3.0" 64 MB 5 MP
+LED flash
 Nokia Asha platform
Asha 503 22 Oct 2013 Single and dual Capacitive touch screen w/ Gorilla Glass 2[20] HSDPA Cat7 (7.2 Mbit/s)
HSUPA Cat6 (5.76 Mbit/s) 		Yes 3.0" 128 MB 5 MP
+LED flash
 Nokia Asha platform
Feature phones without the Asha name powered by S40

The Nokia 206, 207, 208, and 301 were not part of the Asha series as they do not carry the "Asha" branding, despite mistakenly being marketed as such by some carriers and retailers.

Model Date announced SIM config Input method Data bearers Wi-Fi Camera HERE maps Predecessor(s) or similar earlier models (if applicable)
Nokia 206 1 Nov 2012[21] Dual Keypad EDGE, GPRS 1.3 MP Yes
Nokia 207 1 Jul 2013 Keypad HSDPA Cat10 (14.4 Mbit/s)
HSUPA Cat6 (5.76 Mbit/s)		 Yes
Nokia 208 1 Jul 2013 Single and dual Keypad HSDPA Cat10 (14.4 Mbit/s)
HSUPA Cat6 (5.76 Mbit/s)		 1.3 MP Yes
Nokia 301 1 Feb 2013[22] Dual Keypad HSDPA Cat10 (14.4 Mbit/s)
HSUPA Cat6 (5.76 Mbit/s)		 3.15 MP Yes

See also

References

  1. ^ "Nokia to flood emerging markets with budget blowers". The Register. 26 October 2011.
  2. ^ Davies, Chris (26 October 2011). "Nokia's Elop Unveils Asha: Phones For The Next Billion". SlashGear. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  3. ^ Bartlett, Karen (2 November 2011). "Naming the Nokia Lumia". Conversations by Nokia. Nokia. Archived from the original on 8 July 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2016. Asha is the Hindi word for hope: it sounds good, and it has meaning.
  4. ^ "Nuclear options: Microsoft was testing Surface Phone while Nokia experimented with Android". 13 September 2013.
  5. ^ "Microsoft buys Nokia's Devices and Services Unit, unites Windows Phone 8 and its hardware maker". The Verge. 2 September 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  6. ^ "There will never be another Nokia smartphone". The Verge. 3 September 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  7. ^ "Microsoft is killing off Nokia's feature phones in favor of Windows Phone". The Verge. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  8. ^ "Could we see a return of Nokia's budget-friendly Asha devices?". Android Authority.
  9. ^ "EUIPO - Asha trademark".
  10. ^ Mlot, Stephanie (9 May 2013). "Nokia Unveils $99 Asha 501, New Operating System". PC Mag.
  11. ^ Sharma, Mahesh (9 May 2013). "Nokia launches $99 Asha phone, reveals new OS". ZDNet.
  12. ^ "Nokia Asha 200". Nokia Developer. Nokia. 26 April 2012. Archived from the original on 25 June 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  13. ^ "Nokia Asha 201". Nokia Developer. Nokia. 26 April 2013. Archived from the original on 25 July 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  14. ^ Nokia Maps for Series 40 Using Nokia Maps for Series 40
  15. ^ Nokia Asha 203 Teknik Özellikleri in Turkish.
  16. ^ "Nokia Asha 205 Specifications - Nokia". www.microsoft.com. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014.
  17. ^ "Nokia Asha 205 complete Detail". Nokia.com. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  18. ^ Nokia (27 May 2012). "Asha 311 - Specifications - Nokia - UK". Nokia. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  19. ^ "Asha 501 Dual SIM - Latest Smartphone with 26 days standby time - Nokia - India". Nokia. 7 May 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  20. ^ Ricknäs, Michael (22 October 2013). "Nokia takes on low-cost Androids with trio of Asha phones". Computerworld. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  21. ^ Nokia (17 December 2012). "206 Dual SIM phone - Easy Swap Dual SIM Phone - Nokia - India". Nokia. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  22. ^ Nokia (6 May 2013). "301 - DualSIM Phone with 3.5G faster Internet speed - Nokia - India". Nokia. Retrieved 3 September 2013.

Media related to Nokia Asha mobile phones at Wikimedia Commons