Nokia has announced its latest addendum to the Asha family of feature phones. Nokia Asha 210 packs a full QWERTY keyboard and brings the entry level functionality at a tempting price point. It comes in both single SIM and dual SIM variants and also has a dedicated WhatsApp button for quick access to instant messaging. This is the same phone that Nokia teased on its Nokia Conversations blog a few days ago.
To celebrate its newly found partnership with Nokia, WhatsApp is offering free access for a lifetime to its service for all Nokia Asha 210 owners. The phone also got a dedicated WiFi button to turn it ON/OFF. The phone lacks 3G/LTE and settles for GPRS/EDGE and micro USB. It packs an FM Radio as well and also got the exciting Slam sharing feature, which allows the mutual users to share content via Bluetooth without having to pair up devices.
The dedicated camera key lets you access the 2 MP rear camera even when the keypad is locked but sadly there is no front-facing camera. Here is a complete run down on the specifications:
- 2.4 inch QVGA (240x 320) display having 169 ppi
- 32 MB RAM
- 64 MB internal memory and a 3.5 mm audio jack
- Micro SD card expandable storage up to 32 GB
- 2 MP rear camera
- Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, micro USB, FM Radio, GPRS/EDGE
- Dimensions: 111.5mm x 60mm x 11.8mm and weight: 99.5 grams
- 1200 mAh battery ( 12 hrs talk time on 2G, standby time of 46 days with single SIM and 24 days with dual SIM)
- Series 40 Asha
- Single SIM and dual SIM options with Nokia’a EasySwap (its own hot swappable feature for SIM cards)
- 5 colors: Yellow, Cyan, Black, Magenta and White
Nokia also packs in quite many of their own tempting software features such as:
- Smart Camera: Image capture, edit within the camera app and sharing including social networking sharing option
- Self-portrait: Using rear camera and built in voice guidance to click an image when the user is in frame
- Nokia Nearby: Discovering points of interest for eating, shopping etc.
- Nokia Xpress Browser: Reduces the data consumption by about 90% using data compression techniques
- Other common apps like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, WhatsApp etc.
Nokia has brought the bold and beautiful colors of its Lumia series to Asha family as well and we certainly hope that this phone will sell like hot cakes for those who want a good looking feature phone with smart features on a budget. The estimated retail price of the Nokia Asha 210 is $72 and it is expected to start shipping in this quarter of the year. The phone is now live on the Nokia website.