Get a load of the Nokia Asha 503's ice-cube aesthetic (pictures)
Trapped in carbonite? Been there, done that. The Nokia Asha 503 looks like a phone suspended in ice. And that's a good thing.
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Jessica is a passionate content strategist and team leader across the CNET family of brands. She leads a number of teams, including commerce, performance optimization and the copy desk. Her CNET career began in 2006, testing desktop and mobile software for Download.com and CNET, including the first iPhone and Android apps and operating systems. She continued to review, report on and write a wide range of commentary and analysis on all things phones, with an emphasis on the iPhone and Samsung devices. Jessica was one of the first people in the world to test, review and report on foldable phones and 5G wireless speeds.
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It may be part of the budget Asha line for global markets, but Nokia definitely spent some time constructing this small, sturdy plastic phone in a way that makes it feel anything but plasticky. Here, you're looking at the 503's lock screen.
Take a peek at the phone's corners. Can you see the plastic coating that makes it look like the phone's trapped in a cube of ice? Sadly, the handset's 3-inch screen could expand much more within that thick black bezel.
As much fun as the phone is to look at, its performance pales. The Asha 503 has a 5-megapixel camera that's unfortunately fixed-focus and has a VGA-only recorder. The processor is slow, which makes routine duties like navigation and loading apps slow. Battery life is only rated to 4.5 hours over 3G.
