Nokia Asha 501 announced for $99

Nokia today on 9th May 2013 reinvented the affordable category with the launch of the new Asha family and with the introduction of its first device the Nokia Asha 501.

Nokia in a global event in New Delhi, India made an announcement for the new iteration pushing up the limits to recreate a smartphoneish experience on a feature phone. The Nokia Asha 501 is the first device to run on the new Asha platform, which is designed to make the experience faster and more responsive. The Asha platform also helps developers to create, publish and make more money from apps made specifically for the new generation of Asha devices. With Asha 501 Nokia has combined bold colors with a high-quality build and an innovative user interface that too at an affordable price of $99.

The Nokia Asha 501 is available in single or EasySwap Dual SIM models. All come with WiFi and Bluetooth. Other specifications are as follows:

• Dimensions: 99.2 x 58 x 12.1 mm; 98 grams
• Camera: 3.2 MP
• Single SIM standby time: up to 48 days
• Dual SIM standby time: up to 26 days
• Talk time: up to 17 hours
• Additional memory of 4GB (card included in box), expandable up to 32GB
• Forty free EA Games worth 75 downloadable from Nokia Store
• Available colours: Bright Red, Bright Green, Cyan, Yellow, White and Black
• Suggested pricing is 99 USD before taxes and subsidies.

The Nokia Asha 501 is expected to start shipping in June 2013. It is expected to be available through approximately 60 operators and distributors in more than 90 countries worldwide. Nokia has also partnered with airtel in India and MTN in Africa to offer data-free access to the standalone Facebook app, as well as the mobile site m.facebook.com. We will see some more of these partnerships as it gets launched across the globe.

Read more about the Nokia Asha 501 on Nokia Conversations: http://conversations.nokia.com/?p=120951.