The aspirational meets the affordable in Nokia’s beautiful new touchscreen smartphone with social networking and a smarter Internet at its very core
The Nokia Asha 501 is set to break down a lot of barriers and smash people’s expectations of just how much ‘smartphone’ their money can buy.
It’s a touchscreen experience with social networks, content sharing and connectivity deeply integrated into a wonderful, responsive and revamped operating system.
- See exclusive Asha 501 photos in our gallery
- Watch our hands-on video with the device
- The Asha apps Revolution
- Video: Designing the Asha 501
- The story behind the Asha platform
- Live in the Fastlane
Tech Specs
System: GSM 900/1800 + WLAN; GSM 850/1900 + WLAN
User Interface: Nokia Asha Platform
Dimensions: 99.2 x 58 x 12.1 mm (H x W x T)
Weight: Single SIM: 98g
Display: 3.0” QVGA TFT Capacitive Display
Memory: 128 MB Flash, 4 GB MMC included expandable up to 32GB
Connectivity: Micro USB connector and charging, 3.5 mm AV jack, 2 mm Charger connector
Standby time: Up to 48 days (Dual SIM standby time: up to 26 days)
Talk time: Up to 17 hours (all variants)
Design and Colours
However, the first thing you will notice about the trail-blazing Nokia Asha 501 is the gorgeous design. Its lines and shapes are streamlined, compact and clean.
The seamless look and feel is of a premium product that is part of a unified modern design family, from the Lumia 920 to the Nokia 105.
After you’ve admired the durable two-part construction with the removable monobody, the next thing you’ll have to do is make a choice.
The Asha 501 is available in bright red, bright green, cyan, yellow, white and black.
The colour story continues with the red headphones that are included in the box. It’s sure to become a signature look!
Nokia Asha platform
The Asha 501 is powered by a new software platform, which fully leverages Nokia’s investments in Smarterphone, which it acquired in 2012 and builds on the best aspects of Series 40 to create something fresh and innovative.
The result is an evolutionary operating system that is fast, responsive and easy to use.
The Asha platform is faster, more responsive and more flexible too. This means new features and functionalities can be anticipated with future updates.
Developers will be able to create apps for the Nokia Asha 501 that will also be compatible with future Asha platform-based devices.
Living in the Fastlane
The forward-thinking approach to the Asha 501 extends to the user experience.
At its heart is a landmark new feature called Fastlane. Inspired by the much-loved swipe motion gestures on the iconic Nokia N9, Fastlane makes it faster and easier to access whatever is most important to you.
Whether it is the applications you use the most, the latest images you’ve captured or your social network updates, Fastlane is designed so that you’re never more than a swipe away.
Think of it as intelligent multitasking, or think of it as an interactive second home screen. Either way, Fastlane tracks your past, present and future, showing up to 50 of your most recent activities. It brings all the different elements of your smartphone experience together.
Smarter Internet
In just a few short years, more people will be accessing the Internet on a mobile phone than any other kind of electronic device.
This is why the Asha 501 continues Nokia’s focus on the ‘smarter Internet’ with an updated version of the Nokia Xpress browser with a fresh new user experience.
Of course, it still uses cloud-compression technology to reduce data by up to 90 per cent, making it both faster and cheaper for people to get online.
Hardware matters
Straight out of the box, there will be Facebook, Twitter, instant messaging and Weather Channel apps installed, together with premium games from Gameloft, such as Big Little City and Real Football 2013.
There’s also the now-legendary offer of 40 Free EA Games for you to download and keep forever from the Nokia Store.
The Asha 501 will be the first Nokia device at such a low price point to use a micro-SIM. Furthermore, it will come in a single-SIM variant and a Dual-SIM version with Nokia’s unique Easy-Swap SIM technology, which allows people to switch SIM cards without having to power off the device.
It features a 3.2-megapixel camera, WiFi, a lock screen with a glanceable clock and the 3-inch capacitive screen is made out of hardened glass. There’s 4GB of internal memory and support for a micro-SD card up to 32GB.
The battery life offers an incredible 48 days in standby and 17 hours of talk time – that means you could talk from 7am to midnight non-stop!
The Nokia Asha 501 will cost $99 before taxes and subsidies. It’ll be available in more than 90 countries worldwide from Q2.