
Nokia Asha 501: Impressive Low-end Touchscreen Phone for $99 - RaduTyrsina
http://techpp.com/2013/05/09/nokia-asha-501/
======
RyanZAG
Hardly impressive - fairly pathetic really. Observe:

[http://androidandme.com/2013/04/smartphones-2/archos-
reveals...](http://androidandme.com/2013/04/smartphones-2/archos-reveals-
stock-android-phones-starting-at-99/)

[http://www.androidforcheap.com/cell-phone-android-
phone-c-58...](http://www.androidforcheap.com/cell-phone-android-
phone-c-58_53.html)

[http://www.pandawill.com/mobile-phone-c1/android-os-
phone-c5...](http://www.pandawill.com/mobile-phone-c1/android-os-
phone-c551.html)

etc. Just Google around for tons more.

Generally better in just about every way, and running a real OS that can run
real apps.

~~~
mtgx
I think there was a quad core 1080p Chinese phone for $160, too. Considering
these are running Symbian, that's a lot less value for buck compared to an
Android one, even if the price is "low".

EDIT: This one iOcean X7 - quad core 1.2 Cortex A7, 1080p screen, PowerVR 5XT
(1080p video support), 2 GB of RAM, 13 MP camera. Now _that's_ impressive. And
it doesn't look too bad either:

<http://android-sale.com/iocean-x7-phone.html>

~~~
seanmcdirmid
These are not running Symbian. From the article:

> Nokia Asha 501 represents the first fruit after Nokia bought Smarterphone,
> back in November 2012. And maybe thanks to the Smarterphone software, Nokia
> has managed to pack so much inside a tiny, 3inch touchscreen device.

As for the iOcean, I can't find a review about it anywhere on the web in
English. Kind of risky.

~~~
moystard
Indeed, it is running on a modified version of the S40 platform.

~~~
Zigurd
That's correct. That means the "app" runtime on Asha is J2ME plus some Nokia-
specific classes. Only pre-installed software can access the S40 OS directly.

That's not competitive with Android, Sailfish, or Firefox OS, all of which are
already or will soon be in comparably priced devices in the developing world
markets.

Nokia should have kept Meego and/or Meltemi to remain competitive in this
segment. They also could have sold Android alongside Windows Phone, as other
OEMs do.

------
ultimoo
This "used-car salesman" undertone, wordily mulling over the same points, and
over the top praise are very typical of most Indian magazines and newspapers
even. I'm not trying to be nasty here, even I am Indian and not a native
speaker of English. I just find this style of writing very amusing and can
recognize it anywhere. :-)

EDIT: I was wrong about 'recognizing it anywhere', this article isn't from an
Indian publication. No offense.

~~~
RaduTyrsina
It is, but I don't get your point. Though the writer is from Romania

~~~
feintruled
By "the writer", you mean yourself, right? I think the GP is just pointing out
how unusual in style such articles are compared to, say, US tech websites. I
very much doubt you'd see a sentence like "There are many things that might
steal your heart away at this device" there.

A more cynical man than I might label it a gushing puff piece garnered by some
expenses paid Nokia PR event, GP points out cultural differences that might
belay such an accusation.

------
DocG
For all the non-impressed people. It was unveiled in New Delhi, meaning it
focus group isn't western world. It is not meant for you, who already own a
smartphone.

And for its focus group, it is pretty darn impressive. Battery life for people
who don't have toilet, not mentioning wall outlets.

edit: I think it would be perfect phone for kids first phone. Simple, cheap,
good battery, durable.

------
pavlov
On a conceptual level, I like the approach of building up a mini-smartphone
from the bare essentials. A few years back Nokia acquired a company called
Smarterphone that was doing this[1], and this updated Asha platform is
apparently the first fruits of the acquisition.

The alternative is to take the "kitchen-sink" platform of Android which is
actively developed for quad-core phones and full-HD displays, and try to pare
it down to run on low-end hardware that's an order of magnitude slower and
also has an order of magnitude less pixels to work with... While still
preserving compatibility with half a million existing apps.

That's of course pretty much impossible, so instead the super-cheap Android
devices are running old software from several years ago with extra limitations
imposed by the low-end platform.

The difference in the two approaches is analoguous to Windows RT vs. iOS on
tablets -- the other party tries to cut down the full system for cheaper
devices, while the other builds up from software that's been proven on smaller
devices.

\--

[1] According to previous reports, the Smarterphone OS had an app platform
written in Scheme! <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smarterphone>

...I doubt anything of that survives in the Asha platform, but it would be
cool to do low-end smartphone apps in Lisp :)

------
JonnieCache
If this is a return to the good old days of being able to throw your nokia
down a flight of stairs without even dropping the call, then count me in.

~~~
jdhzzz
Wait, you can make calls with it?

------
Geee
Interesting to see lots of influence from the N9. The interface seems quite
good on this one, there's a little demonstration by Peter Skillman, starting
at about 2:00: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6iMsePF0kk>

------
Alterlife
If by "free access to facebook" they mean no data charge for facebook access
for the lifetime of the phone, I wouldn't be surprised by this being a hit
with the college crowd... especially if the camera is decent.

~~~
Maxious
A lot of carriers provide "free" access no matter what phone you have
<https://www.facebook.com/blog/blog.php?post=391295167130>

The catch is the videos/photos are not free, nor are the links to other
websites of course.

------
UnoriginalGuy
ZTE produces tons of Android devices for this amount or slightly less. The ZTE
Blade being one example: which has been out three or four years.

This seems less "impressive" and more "impressive marketing." Why are we
reading about this? How does it advance anything? A worse phone for slightly
more money, because it has "Nokia" on the front?

~~~
RaduTyrsina
Did you read the entire article?

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cbg0
A nice, cheap, small phone with dual-sim? Isn't this just like every other
Asha phone they make?

~~~
rajupp
Awesome build quality and impressive design. The screen size could've been
bigger though

------
Nux
This is awesome and may well be my next phone! Going to wait for the 3G
version, though.

------
SimianLogic2
Seems like a better "Facebook phone" than the one on Android.

------
pjmlp
So, who will write J2ME apps for them?

------
ricardobeat
Can I put Android on it?

~~~
RaduTyrsina
why?

