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Mobile Miscellany: week of December 24th, 2012
If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week, we stumbled upon a sneak peek of Sony's promised Jelly Bean update and XDA University opened its doors to educate others about the curious world of Android customization. Not to stop there, Nokia unleashed a new entry-level handset for those in mainland China. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of December 24th, 2012.
Hands-on with the Asha 205 and Nokia's Slam quick-sharing feature (video)
Feature phones don't grace our pages too often, but when Nokia said it had a new Asha to show us, we thought we'd go take a look. We've been following the Asha range since it launched a little more than a year ago, but we were also interested to see Nokia Slam in action, a new Bluetooth quick-sharing feature with Android compatibility. There were no touchscreens in sight as we were introduced to the Asha 205 -- a Series 40 QWERTY handset with a social angle aimed primarily at emerging markets, but also at those who either don't have the cash or the need for a top-of-the-range device. Bearing that in mind, we gave the phone a brief once over, looking at what it does for roughly $62 (excluding taxes, etc.), rather than what it lacks compared with smartphones at higher price points. During the meeting we also glanced over the Nokia 206, which shares many of the same features but isn't part of the Asha family due to its numpad input (see the video and gallery for more details). Head past the break for our thoughts on the Asha 205, and a demo of Nokia Slam in action.
