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NOKIA ASHA 501

Nokia unveiled it’s new device, the Nokia Asha 501. It looks like smaller Lumia. This phone features new Nokia Ahsa Platform, the Fastlane, and Slam.

Built and Design

The Nokia Asha is solid build in a Slab form factor. It is slightly thicker, but fits perfectly in your hands. The Asha comes in LCD capacitive super sensitive touchscreen. It has “Back” physical button which you can use when stucked or closing an app. Volume rocker are situated on the ride side and the power button. There is no camera hardware key. It’s just a touch shot. At the back is the 3.2mp camera with nokia branding below just like the lumia. Also there is 3.5mm jack for headset and crystal clear speakers at the back. Aside from charging port, you can also charge via micro usb, provided by nokia in it’s package. This is only a feature phone.

Display

This device comes with 240x320 and a pixel density of 133ppi, enough for reading, gaming and browsing. Looking from the sides will make it blur because of LCD. Pictures also look good. It makes color vibrant and good for everyday use. With display that don’t drain your battery too much.

Memory,Data

Asha comes with 128mb(expandable up to 32gb) internal storage and 64mb RAM. Asha has wLan, Bluetooth, Nokia Express Browser, GPRS/EDGE and Radio Tuner.

OS, User Interface, Applications

Noka Asha 501 runs in Asha platform 1.0. It looks like s40 Operating System which was used by older Asha Devices. The CPU has 1GHz clock speed. There is no way to click a popping notification instead you have to go to the notification bar. All you have to do is swipe and it’s easy to use and navigate. The homescreen is very good. It’s like the Nokia N9 which runs Meego Harmattan OS. The qwerty keyboard works well even in minimal screen. The OS is fast and fluid, no wonder why it doesn’t lag(for me). The Asha features Fastlane. A Navigation Pane where the connectivity and recent activity are shown. You can also access apps that you have accessed lately. The Facebook does well. But it took minutes to sync but overall it’s easy to use. There is no copy-paste functionality.

Camera and Multimedia

The phone has 3.15 (2048 x 1563p) megapixel camera which is situated on the center top of the device. The design looks like Lumia, but this is not a pureview camera, not even the carl zeiss lens but the picture looks great. The camera UI is easy to use and navigate. There is default settings that you can use.It can handle noise but don’t expect too much.

The video as I graded for me is only average. The camcorder records QVGA 240 x 320 resolution in 15fps. The Stereo Speaker does well. I played a song in the office when it’s lunch break and I will hear my officemates sing along, and even my manager. The Steroe Speakers gives you 89.db. Loud enough when making crosstalks.

The video player on supports 3gp and MP4 videos, but thanks to the screen it makes watching and streaming crisps in display. The video player has no loop or playback.

 sample shot ((2048 x 1563pixels)

Performance & Battery Life

The Asha 501 is fast. It has 1ghz cpu and 64mb ram. But it has no GPU or GPU rendering. But it does well in using applications. The phone has 1200mAhh battery

For it's size, a 1,200mAh battery is good and also for it's light OS.

Nokia Asha 501 SPECS

Dual-SIM
3-inch 256K-color QVGA Capacitive touchscreen,240×320 pixels,133ppi density
128MB internal storage, 64MB of RAM
Expandable up to 32GB(micro SD)
3.15 MP focus camera
QVGA (240 x 320) @ 15fps
GPRS/EDGE
WiFi
Bluetooth
FM radio
1,200mAh Li-Ion battery
Asha platform 1.0
Dimensions: 99.2 x 58 x 12.1 mm
Weight:  98.2 grams