Reference Auto

Nokia Asha 501, which was rolled out recently, has a phenomenal feature: It is capable of offering 48 days of battery life on 2G networks while it is on a standby and this along with judicious pricing would surely see the 501 storming India’s as well as other emerging markets.

Nokia has been rolling out unique phones with one of the features being top class. For instance, earlier it had launched a phone, the Pureview, with a 41 megapixel sensor. So, on certain phones, it is concentrating on one particular feature but the move hasn't yet reaped much benefit.

But the price of just over Rs 5,300 would make the Nokia 501 a very popular handset in not only India but other emerging markets as well.

The high-end 1,200 mAh battery on the palm-sized device would also pave the way for 17 hours of talk time and 56 hours of music playback, which is simply mind boggling.

This feature would surely help Nokia narrow its difference (sales) with the highest selling brand Samsung and help it gain popularity.

After all, a long battery life is something everyone is looking for, mainly those who use a mobile phone as a music system rather than a phone (which many do today). So, this is Nokia’s target audience for the Asha 501.

The Asha 501 seems to be a smaller variant of the Lumia Windows Phone series and is offered in a litany of bright colours such as red, blue, black, yellow, white and green. The phone also offers a multi-touch screen, Wi-fi and Bluetooth connectivity, a 3.2 megapixel camera and a MicroSD memory option, which can be expanded up to 32 GB.

According to Nokia, although the Asha 501 does not support 3G or 4G data speeds, it comes packaged with the new Nokia Xpress Browser, which compresses Internet data by nearly 90 per cent, making mobile browsing possible in developing markets and offering lower cost data options to users.

Almost 80 per cent of the world is believed to operate 2G handsets, so the 501 is based on 2G. But there are plans to upgrade the Asha series to 3G handsets.

The Asha 501’s evolutionary operating system is quick, responsive, easy to use and flexible. It comes with 40 built-in games.

The 501 will come in a single SIM variant and a dual SIM one with Nokia’s unique Easy-Swap SIM technology, which paves the way for switching SIM cards without powering off the device.

Nokia has teamed up with Airtel and Facebook to provide Asha 501 users on Airtel networks in Africa and India free data access via the Asha Facebook app and all mobile Facebook web pages.

The Asha 501 will hit the markets in Asia-Pacific, India, West Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe around June 2013.

So, with judicious pricing and a breath taking battery life, Nokia Asha 501 is set to storm India and other emerging markets.