Nokia launches Asha 210 QWERTY phone with a dedicated WhatsApp button

Nokia unveiled the latest device in its Asha family, the Asha 210. The phone sports a QWERTY keyboard and is available in both Single SIM and Dual-SIM variants with the dual-SIM allowing for SIM swapping on-the-go. The phone also supports Wi-Fi. The most distinctive feature of the phone is a dedicated WhatsApp button. This isn’t the first time that we’ve seen a social network tie up with a device manufacturer to create a dedicated phone. HTC and Facebook have done it twice with the QWERTY HTC Chacha, which had a dedicated Facebook button and more recently with the HTC First.

Nokia and WhatsApp have entered into a partnership and WhatsApp is offering their service for free on all Nokia Asha 210 devices. Some versions of the Asha 210 will have a dedicated Facebook button instead of the WhatsApp one. It is assumed that this will depend on where the phone is being sold. Nokia is touting this device as a full-fledged social device and is clearly targeted at users who are looking to buy their first smartphone. Nokia claims that the Asha 210 is “designed to ensure that people are never more than a few clicks away from their friends and family.”

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The Nokia Asha 210 comes with a single back-facing 2MP camera that can be accessed through a dedicated hardkey even when the keypad is locked. The smart camera also offers a few image capturing, editing, and sharing options. Users can also share photos and other content quickly by using Nokia's Slam feature, which comes built-into the Nokia Asha 210. Slam essentially enables people to transfer images, video etc to another Bluetooth-enabled phone without the need to pair devices. What is impressive is that the phone also has Nokia Nearby, a web app that lets people discover restaurants, shops and ATM machines in their vicinity.

In terms of hardware the Asha 210 is fairly rudimentary as you would expect any ‘smart’ feature phone to be. It has a 2.4-inch QVGA screen and has 64 MB of on-board memory. The storage can be expanded to 32 GB by using a microSD card. Those expecting the phone to have 3G are in for a disappointment - the Asha 210 will only support 2G.

The Nokia Asha 210 is going to be available in yellow, cyan, black, magenta, and white when it goes on sale in the next couple of months. The phone is expected to be priced around $72, which is approximately Rs 3,900. No dates or region-wise roll out schedule has been released.