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Nokia has launched five new phones in India, with a sixth expected soon. The new phones are the C1-01 and C1-02 feature phones, the X3-02 and C3-01 Touch and Type as well as the top-end Symbian^3 business smartphone – the Nokia E7. Expected in April is low cost music phone, called the Nokia X1-00.
The Nokia C1-01 and C1-02 are entry-level phones, priced at Rs 2,789 and Rs 2,394, respectively, with OVI Life Tools capability and one month free access, aiming to bring education, entertainment, and news to consumers from both rural and urban regions. The service is available in 11 languages. Common offering include GPRS/EDGE connectivity for mobile internet, MMS support, microUSB and Bluetooth connectivity, as well as microSD storage expandability up to 32 GB.
The Nokia X3-02 and C3-01 are a part of the ‘Touch and Type’ range, combining a hardware keypad with a touchscreen – the “best of both worlds” according to Nokia. The X3-02 is priced at Rs 8,839, while the C3-01 is Rs 9,389. Both are Symbian Series 40 phones with 2,4-inch 256K colour screens, and are quadband 3G-capable. Both also have 5MP cameras with 4X digital zoom, native social networking apps, stereo FM radio with RDS, USB on-the-go, as well as Wi-Fi b/g/n connectivity. The more expensive C3-01 offers and LED flash in addition, with while the X3-02 Touch and Type is supposed to be one of Nokia’s slimmest phones ever, measuring in at 9.6mm, and weighting in at 77.4 grams.
Nokia began preorder bookings of its E7 business phone in the second week of March, pricing it at Rs 35,000. A week later, it launched the device at ‘best Buy’ price of Rs 29,999, with Shahrukh Khan as its brand ambassador, or as Nokia wants him to be known, as its ‘Product Tester.’
The latest entry into Nokia’s popular E-series, the Nokia E7 is a Symbian^3 business smartphone with a 4-inch Clear Black Display. Essentially a Nokia N8 with a sliding 4-line QWERTY keypad, document editor, and 8 MP camera, the E7 might become almost as popular as its N-series counterpart has been in India, with the essential price difference the determining factor.
Just like with the Nokia N8, Nokia has also introduced a zero percent interest easy payment scheme that will allow potential customer to split the total amount over three equal payments, one per month. The scheme is available at 176 Nokia Priority Stores across eight cities, with four major banks partnering.
Speaking on his role as product tester at the launch, Shahrukh Khan said “Nokia approached me as a product tester and I was supposed to give feedback to Nokia. I have used the Nokia E7 for over a month. I am totally hooked to it and it has become my constant business companion.”
The X1-00 low-cost music phone is expect5ed at the time of writing to arrive sometime in April. Not featuring the Nokia XpressMusic branding, the Series 30 based Nokia X1-00 has most of the signature features if a music phone, from dedicated music keys, a super powerful loudspeaker, storage expandability via microSD card, FM radio, 3.5 mm audio jack, microUSB connectivity for easy media transfer, to what it calls a single-key playlist creator.
The phone also has a large 1320 mAh battery, rated to deliver up to 38 hours of continuous music play, and, the loudspeaker is rated deliver an output of 106 phone (a unit of perceived loudness), and according to Nokia, it has been calibrated so that no distortion is heard even at maximum volume. The phone also has a torch with a dedicated button, but no camera. The phone is one of Nokia’s most inexpensive devices, and will be priced at less than Rs 2,100. It will be available in ‘Orange, Ocean Blue and Dark Grey.’