As smartphones break records by outselling feature phones for the first time ever this year, Nokia Corp. announced Thursday a new $99 touch-screen smartphone for India and other emerging markets as it seeks to increase market share.
Nokia CEO Stephen Elop unveiled its mid-range Asha line at a launch in India where the struggling Finnish company hopes to gain more smartphone users. Nokia said the operating system is designed to broaden access for application developers, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Elop said that analysts estimate the lower-cost Internet-enabled smartphone category could be a $40-billion market globally by 2015.
"It is indeed our effort to create a robust ecosystem around this new platform. We already have the world's largest operator billing network with over 150 partners and we have now introduced in-app billing, all promising the best returns for developers," Nokia's executive vice-president mobile phones Timo Toikkanen told Business Today. He said the Nokia Asha 501 is the best possible phone at under $100 and the effort was not on adding specs, but providing the best user experience.
The company said the phone offers millions of cellphone users the opportunity to to upgrade from a basic feature phone to an afforadable smartphone. The Asha series provides an affordable option with a touchscreen, easy and cheap access to the internet with a custom browser that compresses data to make it faster on 2G networks, and the ability to download apps and entertainment content, the company said.
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. WhatsApp and other key partners continue to explore new Asha, according to a company statement.
