Review Nokia Asha 210

So got this as a loaner unit from a friend. I needed a Dual SIM phone here to juggle the multiple SIM cards that I have.




First Impressions -

- Durable, sturdy, well built.
- The keys are really well spaced out and are hard wearing. Gives no indication that this is a sub 4k phone.
- There are 2 dedicated keys on either side of the D-pad. They have a default function, and also can be programmed to open certain specific applications on long press.

- In some countries the one on the right is a dedicated WhatsApp key, and in some, a Facebook key. Here it's a camera key which opens up the camera application.
- The screen is a 2.4 inch 320x240 pixel resolution. Just about enough for regular usage. Though it does look bigger in size when in use.

- The phone comes with internal storage of about 10MB, and has memory expandable upto 32GB. However it does come with a 4GB MicroSD card as standard.




The reverse is a clean Lumia inspired design (well the colors surely are), with the 2MP camera and speaker phone. The camera is not recessed as with the Lumia, however the speaker grille has two lil nubs that stick out on either side. This helps keep the phone off the table when lying on it's back.




The phone has a clean, uncluttered appearance with no slots, buttons, sliders, locks on the sides. There is simply one slot, and that is for the 2nd SIM card. The model that is a single SIM, does not come with this slot even.



The right side of the phone. Note the individual humps/raised keys on the QWERTY keypad.



The left side with the flush SIM2 card slot.



Nothing at the bottom, the microphone is hidden behind the keypad. There isn't even a hole for it.




All the action is at the top of the phone, with a standard Nokia 2mm pin charger, a 3.5mm jack for the Handsfree (Bundled with the phone) and the micro USB port for data/model/Nokia Suite etc.

The phone does support USB charging, however I had issues charging it with my Motorola Charger (Said device not supported). Currently charging with the standard pin only, till I understand this issue fully.





Further dis assembly brings out the insides. The phone comes with a BL-4U 1200 mAH battery, which has given me excellent standby and usage time.

I installed WhatsApp and activated data plan on one of my SIM cards. With the data on, the phone lasted me nearly 2 days or 48 hours! With data off, there is no need to bother about the battery, since the backup is excellent. Full marks there.

However point to be mentioned is that the phone does not make use of 3G. It is 2G only (EDGE). This could probably be the reason for such good battery life.

Upon closer inspection -




Issues observed till now.

- This is Dual SIM Single active only. So during a call the other SIM goes offline.
- Sometimes during data usage/browsing the other SIM goes offline. Happens intermittently though.
- The Data SIM cannot be installed in SIM slot 2. Has to be SIM slot 1
- No support for Micro SIM. One is a press to insert type and the other is a tray type. I have my Micro sim under the tray, so it's staying in place.

Camera -

Though the Camera is a 2MP unit only, it's great for taking regular pics. Low light pictures suffer for sure, but for normal everyday shooting in this budget, it is way better than the erstwhile 2 Megapixel cameras on older models.

I liked a feature in this phone which allows you to take a self portrait. Select self portrait, it will give you voice commands to change the angle of the phone, and when it says Okay, it clicks an image of you.

Would be a great hit with the ladies who love taking selfies wherever they go.

It has Bluetooth Slam, similar to NFC, which allows image/media transfer by bringing 2 Blue tooth enabled phones together. Din't get a chance to try out that feature in detail.

Though this is based on S40, and not the New Asha 501 OS, the App support is seriously hampered. With no genuine multi tasking support, it is severely limited. However for those who need a phone for chatting and WhatsApp, look no further. The WhatsApp application provides notifications on the home screen, so that you are notified instantly when you get a message.

The addition of Wi-Fi does make life much easier when at home.

However do note. WhatsApp was not ready to function exclusively thru Wi-Fi. The phone kept pestering me for a data connection after sometime, when I had switched to Wi-Fi. Probably something they need to sort out in the next update.

This does come bundled with the Nokia Xpress browser, which does reduce data consumption and allows you to load heavy pages thru their compressed format. Browsing was easy, though the screen resolution din't make fonts much fun.

There is basic email support with notification, so you can set up gmail, yahoo etc. Facebook comes in as a dedicated app, with a separate Facebook chat software, which is neat.

Bottomline -

Good phone for those on a budget and primary requirements are WhatsApp, Chatting, Facebook, Email and not much of browsing. This is a well built sturdy phone that can easily take it's share of bumps and drops and still deliver.

 

Phone definitely looks more than it costs.

The dead OS is worrying.

 

Yep, but it'll be a hit with WhatsApp users. The biggest issue with the new 501 is no support for WhatsApp. Lol, imagine an app driving the sales for a device

 

This is so ugly that I want one.

 

The Keyboard is really horrible on this one .. Its all rubbery and squigee .. hudders:

The Smart-self-shoot is really nice feature for this type of Phone though ..

 

The keyboard is not really half as bad to be honest for the price. The raised individual buttons do make it real easy to chat on the go.

 

The rubbery texture make sliding of fingers of over the KB very .. strange feeling.

 

I am waiting for the "update" to use whatsapp on my 501

 

This is a good phone.

 

Any "update" on the "update" when would it be rolling out?

However the minus could be what I face in this phone, it keeps bugging you for a data connection. Runs on Wi-Fi also, but requires one SIM atleast to have a Data plan active ( even if data is switched off ).

--- Double Post Merged, Aug 11, 2013 ---

A small update
Battery life is excellent. On Standby this phone lasted me over 5 days and lost only 2 bars. I charged it after that since I was traveling, however it's a charge and forget it phone if you need good battery life

 

I was told 15 days when i bought it: 28th july. Battery of 501 is a bit over hyped, doesn't last that long... 2 days max, I like the music player though.

 

With Dual Sim support and a touch screen, 2 days is great! Are you using Data? Do you switch it off after use? (data connection)

 

Yes. I keep that data on/off thing in mind. Recharged with rs. 127 2g, had to call voda 3 times, first 2 reps said "GPRS not supported on your phone saar ...." . third female figured out and transferred me to technical support who got it working in 5 mins. I can create shortcuts of webpages on the home screen, lol the phone is good.

 

Interesting update. I had last charged the phone on the 31st of August. It's the 9th of September and the Phone still shows 1 bar in the battery.

The phone has been lying idle with about 4 messages received per day and a couple of missed calls each day, with the vibration/notification light on. However a standby of 10 days is awesome to understand how efficiently this phone uses it's battery. Still to beep on battery low

 

I'm already bored of my 501. I'll never buy a touch phone ever.

 

E52 is still available here Interested?

 

Thanks man. No man, not at this time. I won't be interested in any phone for 2-3 years OR if Nokia 501 contraption gives up. Signal breaks/network failure where the old Rs. 1400 was rock solid ALWAYS