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Manufacturer | Nokia (2011–2014) Microsoft Mobile (2014) |
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Compatible networks | 2G EDGE 3G HSPA+ (Asha 300, 302, 303, 311, 503) |
Availability by region | 2011–2014 |
Predecessor | Nokia Cseries Nokia Xseries |
Operating system | Proprietary (Series 40, Nokia Asha platform) |
Memory | 16 MB RAM (Asha 202, 203, 205) 32 MB RAM (Asha 200, 201, 210, 305, 306) 64 MB RAM (Asha 230, 307, 308, 309, 310, 500, 501, 502) 128 MB RAM (Asha 300, 302, 303, 311, 503) |
Removable storage | microSD (up to 32 GB) |
Battery | 1010 mAh (Asha 500) 1020 mAh (Asha 202, 203, 205, 230) 1110 mAh (Asha 300, 305, 306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311) 1200 mAh (Asha 210, 501, 502, 503) 1300 mAh (Asha 303) 1430 mAh (Asha 200, 201, 302) |
Display | 2.4 inches (Asha 200, 201, 202, 203, 205, 210, 300, 302) 2.6 inches (Asha 303) 2.8 inches (Asha 230, 500) 3.0 inches (Asha 305, 306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 501, 502, 503) |
Rear camera | 0.3 MP (Asha 205) 1.3 MP (Asha 230) 2.0 MP (Asha 200, 201, 202, 203, 210, 305, 306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 500) 3.2 MP (Asha 302, 303, 311, 501) 5.0 MP (Asha 300, 502, 503) |
Front camera | No |
Connectivity | Bluetooth 2.1 or 3.0 Wi-Fi (Asha 210, 302, 303, 306, 309, 310, 311, 500, 501, 502, 503) 3.5 mm audio jack microUSB 2.0 |
Data inputs | QWERTY, touch and type, full screen |
Development status | Discontinued |
Nokia Asha is a discontinued series of low-end feature phones and smartphones produced and marketed by Nokia. The name "Asha" came from the Hindi word meaning "hope". [1]
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, [2] [3] 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. [4] On 11 January 2018, HMD Global acquired the Asha brand name. [5] [6]
Below are the mobile phones in the Asha range. None of the Asha models have GPS functionality. All Asha phones included an FM radio. {cn}
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. [7] [8]
Model | Date announced | SIM config | Input method | Data bearers | Wi-Fi | Camera | HERE maps | Predecessor(s) or similar earlier models (if applicable) | Operating system |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Asha 200 | 26 Oct 2011 | Dual [9] | QWERTY | EDGE, GPRS | No | 2 MP | Nokia X1-01 | Series 40 | |
Asha 201 | 26 Oct 2011 | Single [10] | QWERTY | EDGE, GPRS | No | 2 MP | Nokia X1-01 | Series 40 | |
Asha 202 | 27 Feb 2012 | Dual | Touch and type | EDGE, GPRS | No | 2 MP | Some markets [11] | Series 40 | |
Asha 203 | 27 Feb 2012 | Single | Touch and type | EDGE, GPRS | No [12] | 2 MP | Some markets | Series 40 | |
Asha 205 | 29 Nov 2012 | Single and dual | QWERTY | DTM (MSC 12), EDGE, GPRS | No [13] | 0.3 MP | Nokia Asha 200 (dual SIM version) Nokia Asha 201 (single SIM version) [14] | Series 40 | |
Asha 210 | 24 Apr 2013 | Single and dual | QWERTY | DTM (MSC 12), EDGE, GPRS | Yes | 2 MP | Yes | Series 40 | |
Asha 230 | 24 Feb 2014 | Single and dual | Capacitive touchscreen | EDGE, GPRS | No | 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 | 5 MP | Nokia C3-01 | Series 40 | ||
Asha 302 | 27 Feb 2012 | QWERTY | HSDPA Cat10 (14.4 Mbit/s) HSUPA Cat6 (5.76 Mbit/s) | Yes | 3.2 MP | Nokia C3-00 | Series 40 | ||
Asha 303 | 26 Oct 2011 | QWERTY / Touch and type | HSDPA Cat10 (14.4 Mbit/s) HSUPA Cat6 (5.76 Mbit/s) | Yes | 3.2 MP | Yes | Nokia X3-02 | Series 40 | |
Asha 305 | 6 Jun 2012 | Dual | Resistive touch screen | EDGE, GPRS | No | 2 MP | Yes | Series 40 | |
Asha 306 | 6 Jun 2012 | Resistive touch screen | EDGE, GPRS | Yes | 2 MP | Yes | Series 40 | ||
Asha 308 | 13 Feb 2013 | Dual | Capacitive touch screen | EDGE, GPRS | No | 2 MP | Yes | Nokia Asha 305 | Series 40 |
Asha 309 | 25 Sep 2012 | Capacitive touch screen | EDGE, GPRS | Yes | 2 MP | Yes | Nokia Asha 306 | Series 40 | |
Asha 310 | 13 Feb 2013 | Dual | Capacitive touch screen | EDGE, GPRS | Yes | 2 MP | Yes | Series 40 | |
Asha 311 | 6 Jun 2012 | Capacitive touch screen w/ Gorilla Glass | HSDPA Cat10 (14.4 Mbit/s) HSUPA Cat6 (5.76 Mbit/s) | Yes | 3.2 MP | Yes | Nokia 5250 [15] | Series 40 | |
Asha 500 | 22 Oct 2013 | Single and dual | Capacitive touch screen | GPRS, EDGE | Yes | 2 MP | Nokia Asha platform | ||
Asha 501 | 9 May 2013 [16] | Single and dual | Capacitive multi-point touch display | EDGE, GPRS | Yes | 3.2 MP | Yes | Nokia Asha platform | |
Asha 502 | 22 Oct 2013 | Dual | Capacitive touch screen | GPRS, EDGE | Yes | 5 MP +LED flash | Nokia Asha platform | ||
Asha 503 | 22 Oct 2013 | Single and dual | Capacitive touch screen w/ Gorilla Glass 2 [17] | HSDPA Cat7 (7.2 Mbit/s) HSUPA Cat6 (5.76 Mbit/s) | Yes | 5 MP +LED flash | Nokia Asha platform | ||
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 [18] | 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 [19] | Dual | Keypad | HSDPA Cat10 (14.4 Mbit/s) HSUPA Cat6 (5.76 Mbit/s) | 3.15 MP | Yes | ||
According to The Verge , 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. [20]
Nokia Series 40, often shortened as S40, is a software platform and application user interface (UI) software on Nokia's broad range of mid-tier feature phones, as well as on some of the Vertu line of luxury phones. It was one of the world's most widely used mobile phone platforms and found in hundreds of millions of devices. Nokia announced on 25 January 2012 that the company has sold over 1.5 billion Series 40 devices. It was not used for smartphones, with Nokia turning first to Symbian, then in 2012–2017 to Windows Phone, and most recently Android. However, in 2012 and 2013, several Series 40 phones from the Asha line, such as the 308, 309 and 311, were advertised as "smartphones" although they do not actually support smartphone features like multitasking or a fully fledged HTML browser.
Windows Phone (WP) is a discontinued mobile operating system developed by Microsoft for smartphones as the replacement successor to Windows Mobile and Zune. Windows Phone featured a new user interface derived from the Metro design language. Unlike Windows Mobile, it was primarily aimed at the consumer market rather than the enterprise market.
Microsoft Lumia is a discontinued line of mobile devices that was originally designed and marketed by Nokia and later by Microsoft Mobile. Introduced in November 2011, the line was the result of a long-term partnership between Nokia and Microsoft—as such, Lumia smartphones run on Microsoft software, the Windows Phone operating system; and later the newer Windows 10 Mobile. The Lumia name is derived from the partitive plural form of the Finnish word lumi, meaning "snow".
Microsoft mobile services are a set of proprietary mobile services created specifically for mobile devices; they are typically offered through mobile applications and mobile browser for Windows Phone platforms, BREW, and Java. Microsoft's mobile services are typically connected with a Microsoft account and often come preinstalled on Microsoft's own mobile operating systems while they are offered via various means for other platforms. Microsoft started to develop for mobile computing platforms with the launch of Windows CE in 1996 and later added Microsoft's Pocket Office suite to their Handheld PC line of PDAs in April 2000. From December 2014 to June 2015, Microsoft made a number of corporate acquisitions, buying several of the top applications listed in Google Play and the App Store including Acompli, Sunrise Calendar, Datazen, Wunderlist, Echo Notification Lockscreen, and MileIQ.
Nokia PureView is the branding of a combination of technologies used in cameras of Nokia-branded smartphones and previously, in phones by Microsoft Mobile. PureView was first introduced with the Nokia 808 PureView.
The Nokia Lumia 520 is an entry-level Windows Phone 8 smartphone announced by Nokia at the 2013 Mobile World Congress.
The Nokia Asha platform is a discontinued mobile operating system (OS) and computing platform designed for low-end borderline smartphones, based on software from Smarterphone which was acquired by Nokia. The platform inherits UI similarities mostly from MeeGo "Harmattan", and replaced Series 40 on Nokia's low-end devices. The user interface design team was headed by Peter Skillman, who had worked previously on webOS and the design of MeeGo for the Nokia N9.
Nokia Asha 500 is a low-end smartphone from the Nokia Asha series announced on 22 October 2013 by Nokia in Abu Dhabi. The device is built on the Nokia Asha software platform based on technology originally developed from Series 40 and Smarterphone.
The Nokia X is a mid-tier smartphone announced as part of the Nokia X family in February 2014, running on the Nokia X platform. The device shipped on the same day as the unveiling, with Nokia targeting the product for emerging markets, and was sold and maintained by Microsoft Mobile. On 17 July 2014, Microsoft announced that it would discontinue the line.
The Nokia Lumia 630 is a smartphone developed by Microsoft Mobile that runs Microsoft's Windows Phone 8.1 operating system. It was announced on 2 April 2014, at Microsoft Build 2014 and scheduled to be released in July 2014. It has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 SoC with a quad-core processor and Adreno 305 GPU. Additionally, it has a 4.5-inch display and a 5 MP camera. The Lumia 635 is similar but 4G-compatible, lacks a dual-SIM version and comes in a different finish, while the Lumia 636 and 638 are identical, but come with 1 GB of RAM and are currently available only in China and India respectively.
The Nokia X family was a range of budget smartphones that was produced and marketed by Microsoft Mobile, originally introduced in February 2014 by Nokia. The smartphones run on the Nokia X platform, a Linux-based operating system which was a fork of Android. Nokia X is also known generally as the Nokia Normandy. It is regarded as Nokia's first Android device during the company's Microsoft partnership and was in the process of selling its mobile phone business to Microsoft, which eventually happened two months later.
Microsoft Mobile Oy was a subsidiary of Microsoft involved in the development and manufacturing of mobile phones. Based in Espoo, Finland, it was established in 2014 following the acquisition of Nokia's Devices and Services division by Microsoft in a deal valued at €5.4 billion, which was completed in April 2014. Nokia's then-CEO, Stephen Elop, joined Microsoft as president of its Devices division following the acquisition, and the acquisition was part of Steve Ballmer's strategy to turn Microsoft into a "devices and services" company. Under a 10-year licensing agreement, Microsoft Mobile held rights to sell feature phones running the S30/S30+ platform under the Nokia brand.
The Nokia X platform was a Linux-based mobile operating system and software platform originally developed by Nokia, and subsequently by Microsoft Mobile. Introduced on 24 February 2014, it was forked from Android and used on all the devices of the Nokia X family. It was also the next Nokia Linux project after the ill-fated MeeGo.
The Nokia X2 is an entry-level smartphone which was announced and released by Microsoft Mobile on 24 June 2014. It is the successor of the Nokia X, being the first smartphone running version 2.0 of the Android-based Nokia X platform operating system. The Nokia X family of Android phones was discontinued on July 17, 2014.
The Nokia 3-digit series are a series of feature and smartphones by HMD Global and previously by Microsoft Mobile and Nokia, generally aimed at developing markets.
Windows 10 Mobile is a discontinued mobile operating system developed by Microsoft. First released in 2015, it is a successor to Windows Phone 8.1, but was marketed by Microsoft as being an edition of its PC operating system Windows 10.
Nokia is a Finnish multinational corporation founded on 12 May 1865 as a single paper mill operation. Through the 19th century the company expanded, branching into several different products. In 1967, the Nokia corporation was formed. In the late 20th century, the company took advantage of the increasing popularity of computer and mobile phones. However, increased competition and other market forces caused changes in Nokia's business arrangements. In 2014, Nokia's mobile phone business was sold to Microsoft.
Here WeGo is a web mapping and satellite navigation software, operated by HERE Technologies and available on the Web and mobile platforms. It is based on HERE's location data platform, providing its in-house data, which includes satellite views, traffic data, and other location services. Maps are updated every two or three months.
Human Mobile Devices (HMD), formally HMD Global, is a Finnish mobile phone manufacturer. The company is made up of the mobile phone business that the Nokia Corporation sold to Microsoft in 2014, then bought back in 2016. HMD began marketing Nokia-branded smartphones and feature phones on 1 December 2016. The company has exclusive rights to the Nokia brand for mobile phones through a licensing agreement. The HMD brand was initially only used for corporate purposes and does not appear in advertising, whereas the name "Nokia Mobile" is used on social media. As it was launched, the abbreviation HMD stood for Hon Hai Mobile Devices. This was in reference to the main shareholder at the time of its creation: the Taiwanese group Foxconn. In January 2024, HMD rebranded to 'Human Mobile Devices', and will use their own branding on future devices alongside that of Nokia.
Asha is the Hindi word for hope: it sounds good, and it has meaning.
Media related to Nokia Asha mobile phones at Wikimedia Commons