Say hello to Nokia’s affordable ‘Asha’ family of Series 40 phones [videos ahoy]

Say hello to Nokia's affordable ‘Asha’ family of Series 40 phones

It may have been their high end Windows Phone handsets that were grabbing the attention at  Nokia World in London yesterday, but Nokia also took the wraps off their affordable Asha handsets, all running the Series 40 mobile OS.

Asha 303

The ‘Asha’ series of budget phones come in Asha 200, Asha 201, Asha 300 and Asha 303 flavours, with the top of the range Asha 303 packing a 2.6-inch touch display, Blackberry style QWERTY keyboard, 1GHz processor and built in apps like Angry Birds, all yours for  €115 EUR (excl taxes).

Asha 300

Next down is the 300, offering a touch screen and keypad, 1GHz processor, 3G, 5 megapixel camera, a music player, FM radio, Bluetooth connectivity and memory card support up to 32GB, with the whole caboodle priced at €85 EUR  (excl taxes).

Asha 200 and 201

The Asha 201 and 200 are similar affairs, both aimed at  “young, urban consumers who want to constantly stay in touch”.

We were those people once.

Priced at just  €60, the dual SIM Nokia Asha 200 comes with integrated social networking, email and IM, support for 32 GB memory cards, and a battery life 52-hours of playback, while the near-identically spec’d Asha 200 comes with just a single SIM slot.

Set BS detectors to ‘stun’

Oh, and why ‘Asha’ you may ask?

Here’s Nokia PR department to spin some flip-chart/focus group/brainstorming nonsense:

Derived from Hindi – meaning ‘hope’ – Asha signifies Nokia’s focus on positive user experiences and connecting millions of people to new opportunities that help them reach their aspirations.

All but the Asha 201 will be hitting the market in the fourth quarter of this year, with the dual SIM handset arriving next year.

Here’s the all the promo videos with the press release following:

Nokia showcases bold portfolio of new phones, services and accessories at Nokia World

Introduces a range of stylish, smart mobile phones, superior Nokia Maps, partnership for co-branded accessories with Monster, and more

Asha: A new family of smarter mobile phones

Nokia continues its mission to deliver high quality, stylish devices that provide the best access to social networks, the Internet and information, and offer the best overall experience and value proposition for the next billion mobile phone users. These consumers want access to innovations such as easy-to-use dual-SIM, local services and content, and third-party apps, all with a superior user experience for which Nokia mobile phones are known.

These devices comprise the new Asha family of Nokia mobile phones. Derived from Hindi – meaning ‘hope’ – Asha signifies Nokia’s focus on positive user experiences and connecting millions of people to new opportunities that help them reach their aspirations.

The Asha mobile phone family includes:

Nokia Asha 303
The Nokia Asha 303 is a stunning phone designed with sophisticated materials and metallic finishes. It combines a large 2.6″ capacitive touch screen with a high quality QWERTY keypad. The Nokia Asha 303 is built with Internet and social networks ease in mind.

The device harnesses a powerful 1Ghz engine, 3G and WLAN to deliver a fast Internet experience. Social networks, email and IM are at the center of the experience, easily accessible from the homescreen. The Nokia Asha 303 is powered by the cloud-based Nokia Browser, which by compressing the web by up to 90%, provides higher speeds and a more affordable access to the Internet.

Entertainment and applications are also a core part of the Nokia Asha 303 offering. Angry Birds Lite, the popular mobile game, comes preinstalled, together with support for other globally relevant applications such as Facebook Chat, Whatsapp messaging and the latest release of Nokia Maps for Series 40 (in selected markets). The price will vary from market to market and operator to operator. The estimated retail price for the Nokia Asha 303 will be approximately 115 EUR, excluding taxes and subsidies. It is expected to start shipping in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Nokia Asha 300
The beautifully designed Nokia Asha 300 is a touch device which also offers the convenience of a keypad. The Nokia Asha 300 has a powerful 1GHz processor and 3G to deliver a faster Internet and social networking experience. The Nokia Browser allows for fast, affordable and localized Internet access by compressing  web pages by up to 90%.

Users have fast access to messaging, email and instant messaging from the home screen and can swipe to access apps, music or games from the Nokia Store. The Nokia Asha 300 also arrives preloaded with the popular Angry Birds game.

The Nokia Asha 300 comes with a 5 megapixel camera, a music player, FM radio, Bluetooth connectivity and can handle memory cards up to 32GB.  The price will vary by market and operator. The estimated retail price for the Nokia Asha 300 will be approximately 85 EUR, excluding taxes and subsidies. It is expected to start shipping in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Nokia Asha 200
The Nokia Asha 200 is Nokia’s latest dual SIM phone with Easy Swap functionality, allowing consumers to easily change their second SIM without switching the device off.

It is a fun and colorful QWERTY phone designed to meet the needs of young, urban consumers who want to constantly stay in touch. The Nokia Asha 200 features integrated social networking, email and IM, adding RenRen, Orkut and Flickr support. Nokia Asha 200 makes it possible to carry thousands of songs with support for 32 GB memory cards and providing a battery for an amazing 52-hour playback time. The price will vary by market and operator. The estimated retail price for the Nokia Asha 200 will be approximately 60 EUR, excluding taxes and subsidies. It is expected to start shipping in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Nokia Asha 201
The single SIM version of the Nokia Asha 200, the Nokia Asha 201 is ideal for young consumers who wish to stay socially connected, are price conscious and like listening to music. The Nokia Asha 201 has great music features including a high performing loudspeaker, enhanced stereo FM radio and ringtone tuning. With the Nokia Browser you get even faster, even better and more affordable access to the Internet. It supports up to 32 GB memory cards and provides a battery for 52 hours of music playback time. The Nokia Asha 201 also supports push email as well as the popular Whatsapp messaging app. The price will vary by market and operator. The estimated retail price for the Nokia Asha 201 will be approximately 60 EUR, excluding taxes and subsidies. It is expected to start shipping in the first quarter of 2012.