Nokia announced that the Nokia Asha 501, the first of a new generation of smartphones to run on the new Asha Platform, will start selling this week in Thailand and Pakistan, with availability in India soon to follow. The new device will roll out in subsequent weeks across countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. This phone will cost around Rs. 12000 in Pakistan.

The Nokia Asha 501 is available in a choice of six striking colours: cyan, bright red, yellow, bright green, black and white. Its design comes in two parts: a durable, removable shell and the scratch-resistant, tempered glass display. Nokia Asha 501 weighs only 98 grams, for the ultimate in portability.
Swipe unlocks the phone, closes apps and is used to shift between two screens: ‘Home’ and ‘Fastlane’. Home makes full use of the three-inch capacitive touchscreen, displaying a traditional application launcher. Fastlane is the second screen that adapts to display recent activity on the phone as well as upcoming events, helping people multi-task. Fastlane also supports social integration with Facebook and Twitter, by allowing people to post directly from within Fastlane.

The new Asha comes with the Nokia Xpress Browser pre-loaded, which compresses Internet data by up to 90%, making mobile browsing faster and more affordable. People can enjoy a world of entertainment on the Nokia Asha 501, including pre-installed social apps like Facebook and Twitter; chat services like Line, Nimbuzz and WeChat; as well as up to 40 free EA games available to download, such as Plants vs. Zombies. Even more free apps and games are available from Nokia Store, including HERE Maps and the new Nokia Xpress Now content discovery web app.

Nokia Asha 501 features a 3.15 MP camera with QVGA video recording, this phone comes in both single SIM and dual SIM variants.