Or further steps taken by Nokia to defend its enviable position of stabilized 75+ million quarterly unit sales on the “sub-smartphone” market. This is a significant addition to the already successful:
– Smartphone-like Asha Touch from Nokia: targeting the next billion users with superior UX created for ultra low-cost and full touch S40 devices [July 20 – Oct 18, 2012] and
– With Asha Touch starting at $83 and Lumia at $186 Nokia targeting the entry-level and low-end smartphone markets [Nov 1, 2012]

Nokia Asha 205 Price in India is Rs. 2,750/-, i.e. ~$50 at the online Shopping Portals there. The retail store price will be more than this. Since the estimated retail price announced was around $62 for both we could say that for the Nokia 206 the lowest retail price will be the same $50. With this Nokia has a perfect entry barrier against the onslaught of the entry level Android devices as well. I mean:
– $48 Mogu M0 “peoplephone”, i.e. an Android smartphone for everybody to hit the Chinese market on November 15 [Nov 9, 2012]

Nokia Asha 205 Dual SIM: Everyone online now [nokia YouTube channel, Nov 26, 2012]

Nokia 206 Dual SIM: Larger than life [nokia YouTube channel, Nov 26, 2012]

Facebook and Nokia partner to increase connections on-the-go [Nokia press release, Nov 26, 2012]

Facebook and Nokia have today announced an innovation with the introduction of a built-in Facebook button available on the new Nokia Asha 205.

Introduced today, the Nokia Asha 205 is the first Nokia phone that includes a dedicated Facebook button, designed for people who want the fastest, one-click access to popular Facebook features.

“People around the world use Facebook Mobile to connect and share with their friends,” said Javier Olivan, head of growth, engagement and mobile for Facebook. “We are focused on delivering the best Facebook experience to as many people as possible and our partnership with Nokia perfectly complements our strategy of giving people around the world a rich Facebook experience for keeping in touch with their friends.”

“Globally, young consumers have increasingly started using Facebook for socializing, keeping in touch and striking new friendships. The launch of the Nokia Asha 205 responds to this growing demand and gives them a unique option for accessing Facebook while on-the-go,” said Timo Toikkanen, executive vice president, Mobile Phones, Nokia. “We have seen that many people who use Nokia Asha devices are hyper-social and we are proud to partner with Facebook to improve the user experience of those consumers further with the introduction of the Facebook button.”

The new Nokia Asha 205 enables people to easily access the Facebook for Every Phone app and use messaging, one of its most popular features. People using the messaging features in Facebook for Every Phone can now:

• See which of their friends are online to start chatting with them right away
• Start messages and group chats fast
• Reach more of the people they know, wherever they are, no matter what device they are using

People using the Nokia Asha 205 can also easily access other Facebook features, such as sharing photos and status updates with their friends, so they can stay close to the people around them with the touch of a button.

Nokia introduces ‘Slam’ on the new Nokia Asha 205 and Nokia 206 [Nokia press release, Nov 26, 2012]

…

Introducing Slam for fast, in the moment content-sharing
The Nokia Asha 205 and Nokia 206 are the first Mobile Phones devices to include Nokia’s exclusive Slam feature. Slam allows consumers to share multimedia content like photos and videos with nearby friends almost instantly. Slam works with most Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones without the need to pair devices, and without the recipient needing to also have Slam*. In just a few clicks, people can ‘Slam’ their content to another device faster than with Bluetooth alone and without consuming Internet data.

“The latest Nokia devices give super-social consumers new ways to express their personalities through design, color and innovative new features like Slam,” explains Timo Toikkanen, Executive Vice President, Mobile Phones, Nokia. “Both devices are built with the trust and quality people have come to expect from Nokia, and offer smarter Internet experiences that help save money today and tomorrow.”

Nokia Asha 205: the ultimate social phone
The expressive Nokia Asha 205 has a pleasingly tactile QWERTY keyboard.  It also introduces a new, dedicated Facebook button, making it the perfect device for social people who want the fastest access to their Facebook profile. Combined with eBuddy Chat, Twitter and support for popular email accounts such as Gmail, the Nokia Asha 205 is designed to allow that people are never more than a few clicks away from their social networks.

Other key features of the Nokia Asha 205 include:
– eBuddy screen notifications that keep users up-to-the-minute on new conversations
– The free Nokia Life+ web app, including the Life Skills and Live Healthy services
– A comprehensive mobile entertainment package, including 40 free EA Games available for download, along with tens of thousands of other apps available from the Nokia Store
– Available in single SIM and dual SIM models
– Dual SIM model features Nokia’s exclusive EasySwap technology that enables consumers to change SIM cards without having to turn off the device
– Great standby time: up to 37 days with single SIM and up to 25 days with dual SIM

The Nokia Asha 205 is available in Cyan, Magenta and Orange. The estimated retail price for the Nokia Asha 205 is around USD 62, excluding taxes and subsidies, and it is expected to start shipping in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Nokia 206: beautifully bold Internet
The Nokia 206 features a classic alphanumeric keypad and a generous 2.4″ display, giving ample room to surf the Internet, play games, or chat with friends. People can also enjoy fast access to Facebook and Twitter right from the home screen. Featuring a vibrant color palette including Cyan, Magenta and Yellow, the Nokia 206 is the ideal phone for those who want familiarity and ease of use, coupled with beautiful design and all the benefits of the mobile Internet.

Other key features of the Nokia 206 include:
– Imaging technology that optimizes photos taken with the 1.3MP camera for sharing on Facebook 
– A comprehensive social and mobile entertainment package with eBuddy Chat, WhatsApp** and a gift pack of 10 free, premium content items
– Available in single SIM and dual SIM models
– Dual SIM model features Nokia’s exclusive EasySwap technology that enables consumers to change SIM cards without having to turn off the device
– Impressive standby time: up to 47 days with single SIM and up to 28 days with dual SIM

The estimated retail price for the Nokia 206 is around USD 62, excluding taxes and subsidies, and it is expected to start shipping in the fourth quarter of 2012.

---

The new devices take full advantage of the Nokia Xpress Internet platform, which uses Nokia’s cloud technology to reduce data consumption by up to 90%, helping consumers enjoy more affordable Internet access. They also feature Nokia Nearby, a web app that helps consumers discover points of interest such as restaurants, shopping and ATM machines close to their location.

*’Slam’ currently not compatible with iOS and Windows Phone devices

**Available on single SIM variants only

http://www.developer.nokia.com/Devices/Device_specifications/Comparison.xhtml?dev=Asha_205,Nokia_206

Tune in with Nokia Internet Radio for Series 40 devices [Nokia Conversations blog, Nov 28, 2012]

Listening to the radio feels intimate and personal in a way that’s difficult to replicate when you are watching TV. Unless, of course, you’re only listening to some pop or dance music station while you are doing the washing up. 

But isn’t that variety part of radio’s magic? You might be listening to a heart-rending eulogy one minute and then a live sports commentary the next.

Another advantage that radio has traditionally enjoyed over TV is that it’s genuinely portable. Portability certainly lies at the heart of the Nokia Internet Radio app for Series 40 devices.

This great app, which is free to download from the Nokia Store, streams hundreds of radio stations from around the world direct to your mobile phone.

It is one of my favourite apps on my Nokia Asha 311, where it uses the WiFi connection so that it is not using any of my precious data allowance.

Finding the stations

Using Nokia Internet Radio is extremely easy and once you are familiar with how it works then you can also set up quick access to your favourite stations. 

To start you will need to select a station to listen to. As you might imagine, there are hundreds of radio stations being streamed online all over the world, so Nokia Internet Radio has created a directory to help you find what you are looking for.

Select the three horizontal lines icon in the top left corner to open the app’s menu and tap on Station Directory.

The directory itself is further divided into these categories: 

• Genres
• Languages
• Countries and Regions

There is also a search option if you happen to know the name of the station that you wish to listen to. 

For example, if you want to discover which jazz music stations are available then you would select, Genre and scroll down to Jazz.

Selecting this folder will present you with a list of all jazz stations  – as a matter of fact there happens to be 707 jazz stations listed in the directory. Pressing on any of these stations will start the stream and you can listen to your heart’s content.

As I am writing this, I happen to have 4U Smooth Jazz, a French station, playing on my Asha 311’s fantastic external speaker. That’s not a station I could have picked up with my old analogue radio!

The player

At any time you can return from the directory to the ‘player’. You do this by again selecting the option in the menu button (or by pressing the back button in the bottom right).

The player gives you further controls such as adjusting the volume, selecting the next station in the directory, or previous station and, where it’s available, the name of the song that is being played will even scroll across your screen.

One thing that may not be immediately obvious is that you can tap on the name of the station in the player and this will give you further information about it.

Saving favourites

Having such a vast directory is fantastic but it can also make navigating through them all rather time consuming.

Thankfully, once you’ve found the station you’re after, or have stumbled upon something that you like, it can be easily saved as a favourite for quick access in the future.

You can do this for any station that is currently playing by bringing up the menu on the player screen and selecting ‘Add to favourites’.

From the menu list – if you select Favourites you will find all your selected stations. After a while you might have a lot of stations stored even in your favourites! However, there is an easy remedy to this problem – you can also create different folders within your favourites to keep them organised.

To create a folder, select the menu button when you are in your Favourites and you will see the ‘Add New Folder’ option appear. You can even name your folders.

Another of my favourite features is the ‘recently played’ list that you can select from the main menu.

This shows you all the songs (where the naming information is available) that you have been listening to across all the radio stations. It’s really handy if you want to get the name of a song.

One final great feature about Nokia Internet Radio is that it continues playing even when you have put the display to sleep and the phone is locked. A minor thing perhaps but it truly turns my Asha 311 into a true Internet Radio.

Nokia Internet Radio is available for a number of Series 40 devices, including Asha. Series 40 devices with a smaller screen than QVGA [320×240] are not supported. [Note, both Nokia Asha 205 and Nokia 206 are QVGA devices]