Nokia introduces the Asha 305, 306 & 311 touch phones

Nokia has unveiled the Asha Touch family of mobile devices, taking the full touch experience to new price points. The three new phone models - the Nokia Asha 305, Nokia Asha 306 and Nokia Asha 311, further expand the Asha family, first introduced in October 2011. At present, there are 10 Asha devices available in more than 130 markets.These latest phones have been designed to provide a smartphone-like experience to consumers who want to be set free from excessive data consumption costs and short battery life. 

The Nokia Asha 305, Asha 306 and Asha 311 offer a new, redesigned touch user interface. The Nokia Asha 311 is a 3-inch capacitive touchscreen device and is powered by a 1GHz processor. The Nokia Asha 305 is from their affordable series of phones and it comes with an Easy Swap Dual-SIM. Its sister, the Nokia Asha 306, is a single SIM model, and becomes Nokia's most affordable Wi-Fi handset to date.

"By introducing the Asha Touch phones to the market, we're accelerating our commitment to connect the next billion consumers," said Mary T. McDowell, Nokia's Executive Vice President for Mobile Phones. "These phones deliver on what young, urban people value most -- a great-looking device; and an intuitive and affordable experience for connecting to the internet, to their friends, and to a world of entertainment, web apps and content."

The new devices take advantage of the Nokia Browser 2.0, which uses Nokia's cloud technology to reduce data consumption by up to 90 percent, meaning that consumers can get faster and cheaper Internet access. Websites load up to three times faster, in comparison to devices without cloud-accelerated browsing, making it simple for users to browse through their stuff. 

The Nokia Asha 305, Asha 306 and Asha 311 have been created keeping entertainment in mind. All users will receive an exclusive gift of 40 EA games to download for free. These games range across action, arcade and sports, and include titles, such as Tetris, Bejeweled, Need for Speed The Run and EA Sports’ FIFA 12. The Nokia Asha 311 also comes with 15 levels of Angry Birds pre-loaded onto the phone. It comes with a 3.2MP camera and pre-installed Nokia Maps.

The Nokia Asha 305 features a 3-inch WQVGA resistive touchscreen, along with Bluetooth and Dual Band connectivity. It comes with a 2MP camera, Nokia Maps and the Nokia Browser. The Nokia Asha 306 is the sister device to the Nokia Asha 305. It has similar specs to the Asha 305, along with WLAN and GPRS.

The estimated retail price for Nokia Asha 305 is EUR 63 (approx Rs. 4,362) and it's expected to start shipping in the second quarter of 2012. The estimated retail price for Nokia Asha 306 is EUR 68 (approx Rs. 4,708). The Nokia Asha 311 has an estimated retail price of EUR 92 (approx Rs. 6,371). Both devices are expected to start shipping in the third quarter of 2012. Above mentioned prices exclude taxes and subsidies. Pricing and availability for India hasn’t been mentioned, so stay tuned to this space for more details.