Nokia Asha 201

Editor's Review of the Asha 201

The Nokia Asha 201 was announced at Nokia World 2011, as a basic Symbian S40 blower set to get emerging countries connected to the web. Much to our surprise, the Finns have decided to bring the handset to UK shores.

Does the phone manage to blur the line between feature phone and smartphone, or is its affordable features its ultimate downfall?

Design & Build

You'd be forgiven for thinking that Nokia's Asha 201 was in fact a BlackBerry, as its portrait QWERTY keypad and compact display are reminiscent of RIM's teen-friendly Curve line-up. It sports similar curves to the Curve 8520 too, which means although the phone measures in at 14mm thick, it still sits snugly in the palm of your hand.

The Asha 201 is much more colourful than a BlackBerry handset, though. Although we've only managed to get our hands on the pearly-white version, Nokia is promising that the phone will also be available in blue, navy blue, lime green, orange, pink and light pink, as well as a more conservative black-hued model. Although vibrant smartphones aren't exactly our cup of tea, it'll no doubt appeal to trend-abiding teens.

Is the phone as functional as a BlackBerry handset? In short: Yes. We found the raised QWERTY keypad ideal for typing-up messages at speed, the only downfall being its teeny space bar which did slow us down on a couple of occasions. Although the screen lacks touch responsiveness we found the five-way navigation key perfectly functional, as well as the array of shortcut keys which sit atop the keypad.

OS & Interface

The Asha 201 runs Nokia's basic Symbian S40 software, and we were surprisingly impressed with the ageing platform. The interface is simple and clear, and brings social networking to the forefront of the handset's compact display. Don't think just your usual Facebook and Twitter applications, as the handset also boasts Whatsapp Messenger and Google Talk - two nice unexpected perks for a sub-50-quid smartphone.

However, if you're looking for downloadable apps and popular games, you're unlikely to find much on the Asha 201. We'd recommend checking out the Orange Barcelona - which sports a similar BlackBerry design and access to the Android Market.

Multimedia & Storage

Let's get this straight: The Nokia Asha 201 is a phone aimed at bringing social networking to the masses - not amazing photography smarts. That's just as well, too, as the phone sports a mere 2 megapixel rear-facing camera, which will only serve if your needs are very basic.

The budget handset also arrives boasting a built-in FM radio and onboard media player. With up to 32GB of expandable memory this cheap phone could easily replace your MP3 player, as long as you pair it with some decent headphones.

Everything Else

We may have praised the Asha's networking smarts and messaging services, but you might be disappointed to hear the phone is lacking in 3G connectivity. There's no option to connect to WiFi either - so you'll instead have to put up with often infuriating 2G speeds. The browser looks cramped and awkward on the 2.4-inch display too, so this might not be the best handset for you if you're looking for an on-the-go internet browser.

Conclusion

The Nokia Asha 201 may boast excellent social networking features and up to 32GB of onboard storage, but you mustn't forget that ultimately this is a basic handset. Although not ideal for budding-photographers and internet addicts, the phone is fantastic for text-happy teens, and those of you after a phone that stands out from the crowd.