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Nokia Asha brings Angry Birds to the developing world, Mighty Eagle soars (video)
Well we're pretty Angry ourselves, being that Nokia nearly foiled our liveblog plans and made it all but impossible to transmit photos and video thanks to an absolutely miserable attempt at providing internet access. But Nokia World is not without mobile gaming opportunities, and a few minutes with the Birds seemed to do the trick (shifting our moods, at the very least -- there's still no reliable internet). We met up with Mr. Angry Birds himself, Peter Vesterbacka, who took us through a demo of the game on one of Nokia's new Asha Series 40 devices. The game, which has already seen an absolutely massive 400 million downloads, will come preloaded on the Asha 303, giving Vesterbacka and Rovio a chance to bring the game to emerging markets in China, India and Africa, where touchscreen devices are currently priced out of reach. The game seemed to perform just as well as it does on other platforms, so expect the same Angry Birds experience here as well. Jump past the break for a hands-on with Rovio's Mighty Eagle.
Nokia Asha 200, Asha 300 and Asha 303 hands-on (video)
You know, Nokia wasn't only firing its first Windows Phone salvo -- there was also a volley of Series 40 handsets, with the Asha family. First up is the dual-SIM capable Nokia 200. The phone itself bears a strong resemblance to the C3-00, with a non-touchable screen and QWERTY keyboard, priced, pre-tax, at €60 (about $85). Nokia promises admirable battery-life and a rainbow of color choices. Up next is the Nokia 300, pairing a 2.4-inch resistive touchscreen with a numbered keypad, with a long narrow frame very similar to last year's Nokia C3, but now toting a 1GHz processor, five megapixel shooter and a €85 (about $120) bounty. Meanwhile, €115 (about $160) will net you the Nokia 303, which brings together both touchscreen and QWERTY input and rocks a 3.2 megapixel camera. While Nokia's first Windows Phones remain the stars of the show, these sub-$200 prices and pre-2012 arrival will tempt residual Series 40 fans still out there. Skip on past the break for a brimful of Asha.%Gallery-137581% Zach Honig contributed to this post.
Nokia unveils Asha lineup, bringing Series 40 to emerging markets: 200, 201, 300, 303
Nokia has unveiled the Asha lineup, a spate of lower-end devices that run Series 40 and blur the line between featurephone and smartphone. The devices -- named the 200, 201, 300 and 303, are all designed to encourage the "next billion" users to access the web, and seem directed toward emerging markets. The 200 includes an Easy Swap option that lets you throw in multiple SIM cards, and can offer up to 32GB of storage for media playback -- 52 hours of it, in fact. It, along with the 201, have exceptionally loud speakers that work great for parties and those crazy all-nighters, though the latter lacks the multi-SIM support. Both of these phones will be available for €60 ($85); the 200 is going to ship before the end of the year, while the 201 will be ready for your purchase by Q1 2012. The 300 and 303 are the touchscreen handsets of the bunch; the 300 is a candybar with a numeric keypad and offers a 1GHz CPU, 5MP camera and 3G. It'll be priced at €85 ($120) and will be available in Q4 2011. Similarly, the 303 offers the same types of features with a 2.6-inch display and full QWERTY experience, and should be ready before the end of the year for €115 (about $160). All four Asha devices are made of polycarbonate and come with a Nokia Browser, which is powered by the cloud and compresses data by up to 90 percent, saving users from racking up excessive charges. Oh, and did we mention Angry Birds is coming to Series 40? Be sure to check out the vids for each Asha phone -- as well as the press release -- after the break. %Gallery-137548%%Gallery-137529% Sharif Sakr and Dante Cesa contributed to this post.
