Nokia didn’t only show off its forthcoming Lumia 800 and 710 Windows Phone 7.5 Mango-oprating smartphones at Nokia World 2011, as it also revealed its Asha family of Series 40 mobile phones.

As opposed to the Mango-running smartphones, the Asha range is aimed at the lower-end of the mobile spectrum, in line with Nokia’s goal of reaching the next billion mobile phone users. According to the Finnish phone giant these consumers want access to innovations including easy-to-use dual-SIM, local services and content, as well as third-party apps - all with a superior user experience. Asha is derived from Hindi and means hope, with the mobile phone series consisting of:

Nokia Asha 303

The Nokia Asha 303 (video posted below) sports a compact design (116.5 x 55.7 x 13.9 mm, and is a touch-and-type mobile phone that boasts a 2.6" capacitive (240 x 320 pixels, 154 ppi pixel density) touchscreen as well as a high quality QWERTY keypad.

Powered by a snappy 1 GHz processor (make not specified), this device also features 3G HSDPA, WLAN 802.11 n, social networking connectivity, an IM (instant messaging) app, stereo FM radio with RDS and 100 MB of internal storage that can be boosted with the use of a microSD memory card. The Nokia Asha 303 utilised the cloud-based Nokia Browser, which like Opera Software’s mobile browsers  compresses webpages by up to 90%, to deliver higher browsing speeds as well as a more affordable access to the internet.

Also onbaord the 303 is Bluetooth 2.1 and a 3.2 MP fixed focus camera as well as pre-installed apps such as Angry Birds Lite, Facebook Chat, Whatsapp and the latest release of Nokia Maps for Series 40 (in selected markets). No local release info is available yet, but the company did state that the Asha 303 is expected to start shipping in Q4 of 2011.


Nokia Asha 300

Nokia’s Asha 300 (video posted below) is also a touch device, sporting a finger-friendly keypad, just like the Nokia X3 Touch and Type. It is also powered by a speedy 1 GHz processor and boasts 3G connectivity to deliver a faster web surfing experience together with the Nokia Browser.

Users have access to the Nokia Store to download apps, but the Nokia Asha 300 does come preloaded with Angry Birds. Users will be able to capture photos and non-HD videos via its 5 MP fixed focus snapper and also have access to a music player, FM radio, Bluetooth 2.1 and 100 MB of internal, expandable via microSD. Like the Asha 303, the Asha 300 also starts shipping in Q4 of this year, with no local release info being available as yet.


Nokia Asha 200

The Nokia Asha 200 is the company’s newest dual SIM phone with Easy Swap functionality, allowing users to easily change their second SIM without having to switch the device off first.
It sports a QWERTY keyboard and a 2.4" (240 x 320 pixels, 167 ppi pixel density) TFT resistive touch-screen. Social networking support is integrated with support for microSD, while a 2 MP camera and Bluetooth 2.1 also features. Nokia rates the Asha 200’s battery for 52 hours of music playback time. It is expected to start shipping in Q4 of 2011, but no local release info is available so far.


Nokia Asha 201

The company’s Asha 201 is a single SIM version of the Nokia Asha 200 and is aimed at a younger crowd that crave social networking connectivity, like to listen to music and are price conscious.

It features a high performing loudspeaker, enhanced stereo FM radio and the cloud-based Nokia Browser to ensure that users make the most of their data bundles. The phone also supports up to 32 GB memory cards, which it needs since the device only has 10 MB of user memory. Its battery will enable 52 hours of music playback time according to Espoo. Support for push email is also included as is the popular Whatsapp messaging app, so users will be able to type messages via its QWERTY keyboard and navigate the Series 40 mobile operating system (OS) via 2.4" (240 x 320 pixels, 167 ppi pixel density) TFT resistive touchscreen. The Nokia Asha 201 is expected to start shipping in Q1 of next year, with no local release info being available yet.

In related news Espoo also recently introduced its Nokia 603, which is the latest member of the Symbian Belle-operating smartphone range. 

Note: The article previously referred to the Series 40 platform as part of the Symbian mobile operating system range. This is however not the case, since Series 40 (S40) is a standalone mobile platform that is not as feature rich as Symbian S60 and up. Thanks for @gosharpshooter that pointed this out.