Tech for Less: Nokia intros three budget phones under new Asha Touch range

Nokia has unveiled the first few handsets to fall under their new Asha Touch family, a line of budget phones that includes the Asha 311, Asha 306, and Asha 305 that all rock a full touch interface and slim designs. Despite the smart looks, the new line will be running on Nokia’s S40 feature phone interface though, and not on Windows Phone. The low price gives a nice smartphone feel for way less, though, all featuring three-inch touch screens, featuring the cloud-based Nokia Browser 2.0, and pre-loaded apps for Facebook, Twitter, email and instant messaging.

The Asha 311 is the top-end model of the new budget line, running on a 1GHz processor. Features include a 3-inch capacitive touch screen, 3.2MP camera and HSPA connectivity, Nokia Maps, Bluetooth 2.1 and Wi-fi connectivity. An accelerometer, proximity sensor and light sensor round out the spec sheet. The phone ships with Angry Birds installed, but if that’s not enough for your mobile gaming fix, the phone also comes with 40 (40!) free games from EA.

The Asha 305 and 306 share the same basics, with lower quality 3-inch resistive touch screens, a 2MP camera and data network support that’s limited to GPRS and EDGE. The Asha 305 features Nokia’s Easy Swap Dual SIM technology – basically a feature that lets you swap different SIM cards without turning the phone off. The Asha 306 offers Wi-fi connectivity, making it Nokia’s cheapest Wi-fi handset when it launches.

The Asha 305 will be out first within Q2 of 2012 for $85. The 306 and 311 will follow in Q3, costing $93 and $121 respectively.

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