Nokia is looking to target mass markets with the launch of a slew of budget devices and it has been launching one budget device after the other. The company has just launched the Asha 230 which will be the cheapest touch screen Asha device to go on sale. It will be available in single and dual SIM guise. Here is our initial view of the same.
Nokia Asha 230 Quick Specs
- Display Size: 2.8-inch QVGA touch screenSoftware Version: Nokia Asha software platform 1.1.1
- Camera: 1.3MP
- Secondary Camera: No
- Internal Storage: 64MB
- External Storage: MicroSD support up to 32 GB
- Battery: 1200 mAh
- Connectivity: Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, 2G, microUSB v 2.0
Nokia Asha 230 Hands on, Quick Review, Camera, Features and Overview HD at MWC 2014 [Video]
Design and Build quality
The Nokia Asha 230 gets a pretty compact body which is made out of plastic and the smartphone is rounded at the corners which makes it fit perfectly into your hands. Its pretty small but some may see it as compact device. It comes with a decent build quality for the price it asks for.
It gets a single back button up front a long press of which takes you to the home screen. It comes in a wide gamut of colours to suit the needs of masses. The 2.8 inch QVGA display is a bit small and it might put a strain on your eyes while reading texts and browsing web pages.
Camera and Internal storage
It gets a modest 1.3MP at the back which will be capable of recording videos in QVGA resolution @ 25 fps. There is no front camera in the device and the camera has just been given as an added feature which is necessary to be a part of the package but you won’t really use the same.
The internal storage stands at 64MB which can be further expanded with the help of a microSD card by another 32GB.
Battery, Operating System and Chipset
Nokia has given the smartphone a 1020 mAh battery unit which it claims will last up to 792 hours as a stand by time and will have a talk time of up to 11 hours on 2G with the music playback being rated at 42 hours. The dual SIM variant will have a stand by time of 504 hours with a talk time rating of up to 12 hours.
It will run on Nokia Asha platform version 1.1.1 which has proved its worth as a feature phone operating system and need not prove itself time and again. It is a pretty useful feature phone OS. There was pretty much no lag in the device during our brief time with the device. The chipset details haven’t been revealed yet.
Nokia Asha 230 Photo Gallery
Conclusion
The Asha 230 will come in single as well as dual SIM guise (microSIM cards) and will cost you around Rs 4,000 when it launches. It will be available in Bright Red, Yellow, Bright Green, White, Cyan and Black colour options to suit the needs. Expect it to take the fight on to the likes of Micromax and Karbonn in the sub Rs 4,000 segment. With the trust of Nokia and a strong build quality, expect the feature phone to sell well.