Nokia has unveiled a pair of new affordable touchscreen handsets, in the form of the Nokia Asha 308 and 309.
The only difference between the two new phones is that the Asha 308 offers dual-SIM switching while the 309 is a single-SIM phone.
Both come with a 3-inch WQVGA capacitive touchscreen and nifty swipe interface, while network-wise they are 2G affairs (which makes sense since Nokia is clearly aiming them at emerging markets).
Wizzle fizzle
Other features include Wi-Fi connectivity, a 2MP camera, support for up to 32GB microSD cards and 40 free EA games plus native Facebook, Twitter and YouTube clients.
Web browsing should also be a breeze thanks to the inclusion of a new version of the Nokia Xpress Browser, which the company claims makes for 90% more efficient mobile browsing.
But the headline news is the price – the handsets come in at just US$99 (about £60, AU$95) which makes them Nokia's "most affordable capacitive touchscreen devices".
That low price comes at a, er, price: the two handsets run S40 – that's basically about as low as you can go in the smartphone OS arena.
Both handsets should make their debut in the final quarter of this year, some time between October and December. In the meantime, check them out in all their chunky, swipe-happy glory in the video below.
Nokia has announced a pair of new Asha touchscreen phones, and made a point of labeling them as smartphones. So, what has changed?
Nokia has announced a pair of new Asha phones, the Asha 308 and Asha 309, which as touchscreen devices join the previously released Asha 305, Asha 306 and Asha 311. While we, and everyone else, referred to them as “feature phones,” according to Nokia’s press release, the Asha phones have earned “full smartphone classification from global market research companies and analysts such as GfK and IDC.”
So, you may be thinking, the Asha’s run Symbian Belle? Nope, the 308 and 309 still use Series 40 as their operating system, except it’s now called “Nokia OS” according to the specification pages on Nokia’s website.
The press release continues to refer to the 308 and 309 as smartphones, but looking back at the release for the Asha 305, 306 and 311, they were “touch screen devices,” with a “smartphone-like” experience. What has changed about Series 40 between early June, July — when Nokia still referred to it as a feature phone OS — and now? Not much, as this is manipulative marketing at its best.
Here’s what you need to know about the new Asha phones. The Asha 308 is a dual-SIM variant of the Asha 309 and aside from this feature, they’re both identical, so we’ll concentrate on the 309. A 3-inch capacitive touchscreen is your window into the world of Nokia OS and it has a resolution of 400 x 240, while the little device weighs just 104 grams and measures 13.2mm thick.
There’s a 2-megapixel camera on the back, plus Nokia Maps, Wi-Fi, a microSD card slot and an FM radio are all to be found inside. The Nokia Xpress browser compresses webpages for speedier (and cheaper) browsing, there’s access to an app store and a Facebook and Twitter app come pre-installed. Electronic Arts also provide 40 free games to download. Both Asha phones connect only to a 2G network.
While the hardware specification doesn’t scream smartphone, the software is more convincing, and although it’s easy to sneer at Series 40, there’s no denying it looks polished and really quite flash in the video below. To us, “smartphone-like” is still the best description of the Asha range — particularly for those without 3G — but that’s not going to sell any phones for Nokia, at least not where it counts.
Smartphones sell
Feature phone sales are dropping in the USA, but the Asha range isn’t aimed at those with the means to purchase a Samsung Galaxy S3 or an iPhone 5, it’s for markets where those devices are either prohibitively expensive, or don’t offer the right feature set — dual-SIM for example. These emerging markets are prime Asha hunting ground, but for Nokia to do business, it must compete with endless cheap Android smartphones.
With the software looking its best and installed on full, capacitive touchscreen handsets with a cool, colorful style; the only thing left was to convince the public that they’re buying a fashionable smartphone and not a feature phone that’s one step away from the grave. A task which starts right now.
Nokia will release the Asha 308 and Asha 309 before the end of the year, and both will cost around $99.
Nokia has announced two new budget touchscreen phones called the Asha 308 and the Asha 309.
Both are 2G-enabled handsets with a 3.0-inch, WQVGA capacitive touchscreen display, 2 megapixel camera, multiple homescreens, stereo loudspeaker, FM radio and have up to 32GB microSD card support. The phones come with the usual social networking applications and YouTube as well as free 40 games from EA.
The difference between the two is that the Asha 308 is a dual SIM phone whereas the Asha 309 is a single SIM phone with built-in Wi-Fi.
No specific price has been mentioned but the phones are expected to cost around $99 and will start shipping some time in the fourth quarter of this year.
Amazon's new Kindle Paperwhite line boasts an illuminated screen, sharper display and better touchscreen, while the ,ost basic Kindle will now sell for $69 and gets a host of improvements as well.
The new Kindle hardware inarguably stole plenty of attention at today’s event. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezo’s waxed lovingly about the lineup as well as users’ love for it before introducing us to the Kindle Paperwhite, the latest addition to the Kindle family.
“We love to invent. We love to pioneer,” he said. “We even like going down alleys that turn out to be blind alleys.” Bezos also explained that while Amazon is a risk-taker, it’s also perfectly happy when it strikes gold – and that it certainly has with the Kindle.
The Kindle Paperwhite is a significant upgrade, and features plenty of what we all thought it would: It’s a frontlit, E-Ink reader, with much higher resolution and contrast. The screen now boasts 212 pixels per inch, which is 62 percent more resolution than the last version, and contrast has been increased 25 percent from current Kindles. What else? The Paperwhite also gets rid of the Kindle’s infrared touch technology in favor of capacitive touch, and includes patented light guide technology (which Bezos called highly adjustable). It’s a slim 9.1 mm and 7.5 ounces, with eight weeks of battery life (even with the light left on).
And those are just the hard specs. Amazon has done a lot of work on font display, and the Kindle Paperwhite is able to analyze your reading speed and tell you how much time it will take you to finish a chapter or book. Other new features include author bios, and as you’d expect you can switch between content saved to your Kindle, connect to the cloud, and use X-Ray content analysis for tracking characters and story development.
The Kindle Paperwhite Wi-Fi model will cost $119, and the 3G-enabled version $179. You can order both now, and they will ship in October. In addition to the new devices, Amazon also has an upgraded its entry-level Kindle and cut cost from $79 to $69. The new version has better contrast and resolution, crisper fonts with more text, and faster page turning. It will ship September 14.
Of course, this is only a sampling of what Amazon is announcing today. We’ll be at the event and bringing you more news throughout the day.
