Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Latest News
    • Mobile

    Nokia Asha 308, 309 Designed for Next Billion Internet Users

    By
    Michelle Maisto
    -
    September 25, 2012
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Nokia introduced the Nokia Asha 308 and 309 Sept. 25, continuing to reach out to first-time smartphone users and the next billion people yet to have easy access to the Internet.

      The small, attractive and nearly identical sister phones feature scratch-resistant 3-inch touch-screens, run Nokia’s Asha Touch operating system and differ in two ways—the Asha 308 can accommodate two SIM cards, and there’s no need to power down the phone to switch between them, while the single-SIM 309 is also WiFi-enabled.

      Another big selling point is the newest version of the Nokia Xpress Browser, which is said to offer 90 percent more efficient mobile browsing and faster access to Web-based applications than conventional browsers. As of July, Nokia offered more than 10,000 Web apps.

      The two new Nokia phones run on 2G networks—making the speed of the new browser necessary—and include multiple, customizable home screens, stereo radios, loud speakers and a microSD card slot that can support 32GB of storage. The 308 and 309 feature stand-alone apps for social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, include Nokia Messaging and are the first Asha handsets to offer streaming video from sites like YouTube.

      Nokia is also offering buyers the gift of 40 free games from Electronic Arts.

      While the phones arrived with none of the fanfare of Nokia’s Lumia line, they do get to enjoy some of Nokia’s mapping expertise through a Nokia Nearby Web-based app. Nearby helps users to find friends and places nearby and presents it all on a map.

      Priced around $99 U.S. dollars, the phones will begin shipping during the fourth quarter. The 308 will come in black or golden light, and the 309 in white or black.

      Nokia estimates that of the roughly 7 billion people on the planet today, 3.2 billion don’t yet own a mobile phone and 1.2 billion others own a basic phone capable of voice calling and Short Message Service (SMS) but little more.

      The typical Asha buyer is “urban, young and really social; normally between 16-24 years old, and living in big metropolitan areas such as Cairo, Karachi, Sao Paulo or Jakarta,” said Saulo Passos, Nokia’s communications director for mobile phones. “They are really interested in what they can do with technology, and very smart about how they can find the best phone for their needs.”

      Passos adds that ideal Asha users are very socially connected, and “financially constrained” due to their age. They like Asha features such as an updated browser, which compresses more data and so surfs faster, ultimately saving them money on their phone bills.

      The 308 and 309 will also ship with the Nokia Life+ Web App, which offers location-specific information in areas such as education, health and entertainment. Later this year, Nokia will add local versions for India, China and Indonesia.

      Research firm Research2Guidance expects the number of households in China that can afford a smartphone to double, from 40 percent to 80 percent, by 2017. IDC, also noting strong smartphone growth in China, expects the country to finish the year as the world’s largest smartphone market and to retain that title well through 2016.

      After the United States, which China bumped to second place, the next largest phone markets are the United Kingdom, India and Brazil.

      For developers interested in the new Asha smartphones, Nokia has also introduced new Web-based tools that it says makes it “even easier” to build applications.

      Michelle Maisto
      Michelle Maisto has been covering the enterprise mobility space for a decade, beginning with Knowledge Management, Field Force Automation and eCRM, and most recently as the editor-in-chief of Mobile Enterprise magazine. She earned an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and in her spare time obsesses about food. Her first book, The Gastronomy of Marriage, if forthcoming from Random House in September 2009.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×