Nokia on Thursday added Nokia Asha 501to its Asha smartphones series. The sub-$100 device runs on new Asha platform.

The Asha 501 will start shipping in June, and will be available through around 60 operators and distributors in over 90 countries.

Nokia which has seen a tremendous increase in consumer demand for apps for its Asha smartphones, as witnessed by the growth of downloads in Nokia Store, is planning to sell 100 million of the new generation Asha smartphones over the coming years, beginning with the Nokia Asha 501.
 
If one goes by words of Stephen Elop, president and chief executive of Nokia Corp, the company has a lot of work to do to catch up with Apple Inc.’s iPhone and Samsung Galaxy in the more expensive smartphones market.
 
“In absolute terms, we are at lower levels, and we are starting from zero in those price bands. We have to build that. Samsung and Apple have been building that for a number of years in the Indian market and we have to do that,” Elop said.
 
The dua-SIM device with a three-inch, capacitive touchscreen and a single 'back' button  comes in just two parts: a durable, removable casing and the scratch-resistant glass display It  is available in six  colours.  The compact new Asha weighs only 98 grams.

"Nokia has surpassed expectations of what's achievable in the sub-100 USD phone category with a new Asha handset that is unlike any other, with design cues from Lumia and a mix of features, services and affordability that is valued by price-conscious buyers," said Neil Mawston, executive director, Global Wireless Practice, Strategy Analytics.

The new Asha comes with Nokia Xpress Browser pre-loaded, which compresses Internet data by up to 90%.

Nokia also announced the availability of Nokia Xpress Now, a new Web application that recommends content based on location, preferences and trending topics. It will be available via the Browser homepage or as a download from Nokia Store.

Many of the most popular applications are already available or in development for the Nokia Asha platform, including CNN, eBuddy, ESPN, Facebook, Foursquare, Line, LinkedIn, Nimbuzz, Pictelligent, The Weather Channel, Twitter, WeChat, World of Red Bull and games from Electronic Arts, Gameloft, Indiagames, Namco-Bandai and Reliance Games.

To lure the customers Nokia has teamed up with Facebook and Airtel to offer data-free access to the standalone Facebook app, as well as the mobile site m.facebook.com.

Nokia said that by the end of second quarter, current Airtel subscribers in Africa and India will be able to enjoy unlimited, data-free access to Facebook from their Nokia Asha 501 for a limited period of time.
 
Commenting on the partnership, Andre Beyers, Chief Marketing Officer for Airtel Africa, said: "The collaboration with Nokia is in line with our strategy of enabling people to access data in Africa as we seek to bridge the digital divide across the continent. We're already witnessing tremendous growth in data use across the 17 countries where we operate. The provision of free Facebook access is an excellent proposition to the millions of Airtel consumers. We are extremely delighted to partner with Nokia to give our consumers an even better mobile experience."

The struggling Finnish handset giant one led Indian market with a 80% share but lost to cheaper phones from Chinese companies which shrunk its share to about 20%. The range Asha has since helped the company increase its market share to about 22%,

Nokia said that India is a major manufacturing site for it, serving customers across the world. It said that India’s importance can be seen from the fact that it picked New Delhi to launch this new device. “It’s just symbolic of how important this market is and the opportunity as well. We have made substantial investments in our Chennai facility.”

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