Review :: Nokia Asha 308 "TechRival"

Introduction

Nokia may be at a point when if Lumia sneezes the entire company catches a cold, but a small part of their system is remarkably resistant. Well, yes, it's the dumbphones and some may say they're too primitive a species to be affected.

But the Asha line is doing well nonetheless - and not only on traditionally loyal developing markets. The neat swipe-driven Asha Touch interface and the Nokia Store bring those otherwise basic packages a lot closer to the smartphone experience that everyone is so keen on getting lately.

So, while Lumia is rightfully at the height of hype, the Ashas have been quiet but busy. The lineup is being refined and updated and one of the latest installments, the Nokia Asha 308, is offering the familiar (and impressively efficient) Finnish dual-SIM setup on a capacitive screen.

Key features

Dual-band GSM, GPRS, EDGE

• Dual SIM dual stand-by, SIM
• S40-based Asha touch interface
• 3" WQVGA capacitive touchscreen, ~155 pixel density
• Display auto-rotation
• 64MB RAM, 128MB ROM, 20MB storage
• Nokia Browser 2.0
• Nokia store and 40 EA games for free
• 2 MP camera
• microSD card support (up to 32 GB) and 2 GB microSD card in the box
• FM radio with RDS, FM recording
• Bluetooth v3.0
• Standard microUSB port, charging
• 1110 mAh Li-Ion battery
• Excellent loudspeaker performance

Main disadvantages

• No 3G
• No Wi-Fi
• Low-resolution screen
• Fixed-focus camera and QCIF video recording
• No smart dialing

When the new Asha Touch lineup was launched in the summer, the capacitive screen was a luxury that only the top-spec'd Asha 311 could afford. The Asha 305 and 306 were the basic packages offering a choice between Wi-Fi and dual-SIM. They both failed to impress in terms of interface response and fluidity, though with the resistive screens and limited RAM sharing the blame.

The Nokia Asha 308 is the dual-SIM half of a pair of new recruits, and while it offers a similar level of equipment to the 305, the capacitive screen and double the amount of RAM are expected to make the right difference. We're about to see if they do. Follow us on the next page where we start with the usual hardware tour.

Unboxing the Asha 308

The Asha 308 has everything you may need inside the retail box to get started: the traditional Nokia A/C charger (although the phone charges off USB too), a short microUSB cable and a single-piece headset.

Inside the phone you'll also find a 2GB microSD card.